RESEARCH

Fish Research
Fish research is a branch of zoology known as
ichthyology. Scientists who specifically study fish
are called ichthyologists.
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There are three distinct groups of fish that
ichthyologists study: bony fish, cartilaginous fish,
and jawless fish. Ichthyology has a long history that
began with simple observations and descriptions of
fish over 200 years. The first known recorded
observations of fish were documented by Pierre
Belon in the 1500’s. In the early 1700’s, Peter
Artedi’s, who some consider to be the Father of
Ichthyology, had his work “Ichthyologia”
posthumously published by Karl Linnaeus. At that
time, Artedi recognized 230 species of fish. Today,
we recognize approximately 31,900 species.
There are approximately 31,900 species of known
fish according to FishBase, a website that provides
data about all known fish. FishBase is run by a
consortium that is made up of an international group
of organizations, universities, and museums from
countries around the world: Greece, China, Canada,
Italy, Germany, France, Belgium, Sweden, and
Malaysia. Additional ichthyologic research is
conducted through various universities and
institutions around the world that continue to add to
the body of knowledge about fish. This knowledge
plays an important role in the future of one of the
largest ecosystems in the world: the ocean.
Fish is a significant source of protein for millions of
people in the world. Human population growth has
placed a significant demand on fish as a food source.
It is estimated that approximately 25 percent of all
protein consumed by people comes from fish. For
some developing nations fish provides a large
percentage of protein for its own people as well as a
source of income as an export product.
Fish research has become an increasingly important
study as fish populations decline throughout the
world. The decline of fish has an immense impact on
ocean ecosystems as well as a significant impact on
one of the primary food sources for people around
the world. Overfishing in the past 50 years has
significantly reduced fish populations across a large
number of species. Research in ichthyology helps
policy makers determine what course of action to
take in order to maintain fish populations throughout
the world. National and international policies are
determined based on the data provided by fish
research.