General Information

Fisheries Science

What is fisheries science?

Fisheries science is the study of freshwater, marine and/or estuarine aquatic systems that involve humans. A fishery is any body of water with which humans interact, such as in the form of fishing or swimming. A body of water that does not involve human interaction in one form or another is not a fishery.

What do fisheries scientists do?

Fisheries scientists analyze the ecological health and sustainability of fisheries, how the health of fisheries affects the people who interact with them and vice versa. Fisheries scientists assess and monitor fish and aquatic invertebrate populations to determine ecological and economic health of the environment as well as to determine harvest rates of various species. Harvest rates refer to the amount of fish or aquatic invertebrates caught for commercial, recreational or subsistence purposes. Fisheries scientists conduct research in the field as well as in laboratories.

What are the major areas of research within fisheries science?

Fisheries science includes many areas of research, such as studying aquatic populations, habitats, ecological health, biodiversity, physiology and toxicology, socioeconomics and fisheries management. Aquatic resources management refers to the process of minimizing adverse impacts on aquatic populations within their shared habitat through science-based practices in order to conserve the aquatic resource as a whole.