CFP CFP Fish Population Dynamics & Stock Assessment

Question 1

Which metric is used in stock assessment to describe the maximum sustainable yield (MSY) of a fish population?

Accepted Answer

The highest yield that can be taken from a stock indefinitely under existing conditions

Answer

The largest single-year catch ever recorded

Answer

The average annual catch over the past decade

Answer

The total biomass of all age classes combined

Question 2

In a catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) index, what does a declining CPUE typically indicate?

Accepted Answer

A decrease in fish abundance or population density

Answer

Improved fishing gear efficiency

Answer

An increase in fishing effort

Answer

Better data collection methods

Question 3

What is the purpose of a virtual population analysis (VPA) in fisheries science?

Accepted Answer

Reconstruct historical population size and fishing mortality from catch-at-age data

Answer

Simulate fish behavior in virtual environments

Answer

Model fish migration routes using GPS tracking

Answer

Estimate habitat suitability scores for spawning areas

Question 4

Which age-determination method is most commonly used for freshwater fishes in the US?

Accepted Answer

Scale annuli

Answer

Vertebrae cross-sections

Answer

Dorsal fin spine annuli

Answer

Otolith thin-sections and whole otoliths

Question 5

The Beverton-Holt recruitment model describes what relationship?

Accepted Answer

The relationship between spawning stock biomass and subsequent recruitment

Answer

The link between water temperature and fish growth rates

Answer

The correlation between habitat quality and species diversity

Answer

The effect of fishing mortality on age structure

Question 6

What does the term 'recruitment overfishing' mean in stock assessment?

Accepted Answer

Reducing the spawning stock so severely that recruitment is impaired

Answer

Harvesting fish before they reach minimum legal size

Answer

Exceeding the quota set for a given fishing season

Answer

Targeting juvenile fish during spawning aggregations