Anyone who goes fishing probably has a story about "the one that got away."
It was this big, doncha know.
Yah, that was a bummer… but it's actually quite important that big fish get away, both for fish and fishermen.
For most of the species that we fish, commercial and recreational fishermen are only allowed to keep individuals above a minimum legal size.
The idea behind these laws is to protect juveniles so they can grow big enough to reproduce at least once before becoming our dinner.
In theory, that means there will always be enough fish for dinner tomorrow.
And insuring dinner for tomorrow is important enough that the British Parliament discussed protecting young (that is, small) fish as early as 1376, and today it's a common regulation for fisheries worldwide.
Except, it doesn't really work.
First, large individuals have the greatest number of successful offspring both because bigger fish produce more eggs and because the eggs they produce also contain a more generous food supply for the baby fishies.
So by removing the largest individuals of a given species, we severely decrease the population's ability to replenish itself.
