Most of the world's marine fishery resources are overexploited.
Despite the technical measures implemented, many depleted stocks
have failed to recover. Recovery of fish stocks will be
dependent on their reproductive potential, though there is an
increasing awareness that the traditional indicators of
reproductive potential are inadequate as they do not represent
the capacity of populations to annually produce viable eggs and
larvae. In addition, egg production is also influenced by
ambient environmental conditions. Worldwide, considerable
research is occurring to examine linkages between fish
reproductive success and subsequent population dynamics. To
broaden the scope of international integration there is a need
for standardization and cross calibration of different
protocols, demonstration of the latest methodological advances
and creation of a common research platform that provides
fisheries managers with realistic tools to promote fish stock
recovery. To this end there have been important advances made t