A new article I contributed to has been published in Fishery Research.

The study focuses on European whitefish in the northern Baltic Sea, which exist as two types, or ecotypes: one that migrates between rivers and the sea (anadromous) and one that spawns entirely in the sea. These fish are caught together in fisheries, but the river-migrating type is endangered, while the sea-spawning type is doing better.

We looked at ways to tell the two types apart, using both physical traits and genetic data. This isn’t always straightforward — some fish show mixed traits, likely due to past stocking, habitat changes, or variable migration patterns. We also studied how fishing depth, season, and net size affect which type of fish is caught. The results show that fishing practices can strongly influence catch composition, highlighting that adjusting fishing rules by location and timing could help protect the vulnerable whitefish population.

The full article is available on ScienceDirect:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165783626000019