Knowledge on stock recruitment is the backbone of fisheries research and the basic prerequisite for sustaining the fishing industry. In this Excellence in Ecology book, David H. Cushing presents and weighs essential information on the conditions, known or hypothetical, that determine reproduction, growth and abundance of commercially valuable fish populations in oceans and coastal waters. He takes a close look at the history of fisheries and considers in detail environmental and human influences on fish production, and the autecological rules and dynamics of recruitment processes. Cushing's intimate knowledge and solid expertise allow him to outline fascinating details on the birth of a new science – the science of recruitment – and to draft guidelines for developing that science in the years to come.