Since the first publication of "Population Genetics and Fishery Management" in 1987, significant technological, analytical, and conceptual changes have occurred. By explaining basic population genetics in a fisheries context, the text continues to serve as an excellent starting point for approaching complex recent developments.

Population genomics has provided unprecedented opportunities to unravel the mysteries of marine organisms in the oceans' depths. The world's oceans, which make up 70% of our planet, encompass diverse habitats and host numerous unexplored populations and species. Population genomics studies of marine organisms are rapidly emerging and have the potential to transform our understanding of marine populations, species, and ecosystems, providing insights into how these organisms are evolving and how they respond to different stimuli and environments. This knowledge is critical for understanding the fundamental aspects of marine life, how marine organisms will respond to environmental changes, and how we can better protect and preserve marine biodiversity and resources. This book brings together leading experts in the field to address critical aspects of fundamental and applied research in marine species and share their research and insights crucial for understanding marine ecosystem diversity and function. It also discusses the challenges, opportunities and future perspectives of marine population genomics.

The basic principle of all molecular genetic methods is to employ inherited, discrete and stable markers to identify genotypes that characterize individuals, populations or species. Such genetic data can provide information ori the levels and distribution of genetic variability in relation to mating patterns, life history, population size, migration and environment. Although molecular tools have long been employed to address various questions in fisheries biology and management, their contributions to the field are sometimes unclear, and often controversial. Much of the initial impetus for the deployment of molecular markers arose from the desire to assess fish stock structure based on various interpretations of the stock concept. Although such studies have met with varying success, they continue to provide an impetus for the development of increasingly sensitive population discriminators, yielding information that can be valuable for both sustainable exploitation and the conservation of fish populations. In the last major synthesis of the subject, Ryman and Utter (1987) summarized progress and applications, though this was prior to the wide-scale adoption of DNA methodology. New sources of genetic markers and protocols are now available, in particular those that exploit the widely distributed and highly variable repeat sequences of DNA, and the amplification technique of the polymerase chain reaction.

"List of Fish Taxa -- Preface -- Introduction -- An Overview of Classical and Molecular Genetics -- Measurement of Genetic Variation -- Allozyme Variation -- Chromosomal Variation -- Mitochondrial DNA -- Nuclear DNA -- Population GeneticProcesses -- Natural Selection -- Random Genetic Drift -- Inbreeding -- Coadaptation and Outbreeding Depression -- Quantitative Genetics -- Practical Applications of Population Genetics -- Genetic Stock Identification and Risk Assessment -- Genetic Guidelines for Hatchery Supplementation Programs --Genetic Impacts of Fish Introductions --Genetic Marking -- Forensics -- Population Viability Analysis --Glossary - Index"--P. v.

Since the first publication of "Population Genetics and Fishery Management" in 1987, significant technological, analytical, and conceptual changes have occurred. By explaining basic population genetics in a fisheries context, the text continues to serve as an excellent starting point for approaching complex recent developments.