In The Past, For The Management, Optimum Exploitation And Conservation Of Wild Fish Stocks Both Marine And Freshwaters, Various Aspects Of Fishery Biology, Particularly The Aspect Of Age And Growth Studies Based On Various Hard Parts Have Made Use Of With Great Success Especially In Western Countries. In India And Several Developing And Under Developed Countries, The Priority Has Been Given To Culture Fisheries To Combat Malnutrition And As A Result The Stocks Of Native Fish Species In Wild Have Shown Drastic Decline During The Last Half Century. This Mistake Has Been Realized And The Efforts Are Being Undertaken To Reverse This Process. The Author Of The Book Has Suggested That If The Technique Of Age Determination Of Hard Parts Namely Scales, Opercular Bones, Otoliths, Vertebrae, Fin Ray Sections, Frontal Bone, Cleithral Bone, Post-Cleithral Bone, Urohyal Bone, Metapterygoid Bone, Branchiostegal Rays Is Reliable, The Age-Growth Data In-Conjunction With Length-Weight Data Can Be Extremely Helpful In Pinpointing The Fast Growing Populations And The Factors Responsible For Their Fast Growth. This Technique Can Be Made Use In Selecting The Fast Growing Brooders In Various Pisciculture Practices To Enhance The Fish Yields. Further, By Applying The Various Statistical Formulae And Advanced Techniques Such As SEM And TEM, The Detailed Study Of Hard Parts Is Extremely Useful In The Determination Of Spawning Season(S), Index Of Species Average, Population Weight Growth Intensity, Old Age Minimum Harvestable Size And Presence Of Biggest Fish In A Body Of Water. All These Parameters Are Helpful In The Management Of Capture Fishery. The Use Of Fish Hard Parts In Fish Systematic Up To Species And Population Levels And As Pollution Indicators New Innovations In Osseochroneometry Has Also Been Discussed In Detail. In The True Sense, The Study Of Fish Hard Parts In India Started During The Middle Of Twentieth Century And Not Many Papers Have Been Published On This Aspect On Indian Fishes Both Marine And Freshwater Considering Indian Fish Diversity. There Is A Need To Take Up This Important Aspect Of Fishery Research, As To Come To The Conclusions, Not Many Fish Specimens Are Required In This Technique. Keeping In Mind The Need Of The Hour, This Book Has Been Written Having Emphasis On The Various Methods Of The Study Of Various Hard Parts And How These Studies Can Be Made Use For Growth Studies, Various Aspects Of Fish Biology, Systematics, Populations Analysis And Fish Toxicology. All The Papers Published Till Date On This Aspect On Indian Fishes, Particularly The Indian Freshwater Fishes Have Been Discussed. This Book Will Be Useful To Those Researchers Who Wish To Take Up This Important Aspect Of Fishery Science In India And Abroad, Fishery Biologists, Fish Ecologist To Improve The Fish Production In Wild, Conservation Of Native Fish Species, To Access When The Fishes Were Under Stress Conditions. Fish Hard Parts-Alternate Tools In Fish Systematic And Fish Toxicology, New Innovations Have Been Described In Detail.
