Just read a paper about a small 5ha lake with yellow perch, walleye and bluegill.
Bluegill experienced 92% mortality their first year of life. and 91% mortality in thier second year of life. In years when no one fished the pond age 3 fish had 49% mortality and with fishing mortality was 79%.
So after just three years between 1.5-3 fish would survive out of 1000 age 0 BG. So what if you have 10% females instead of 50%? and the initial size class isn't 1000 but instead 200? When fish experience this kind of mortality you need alot of them to keep the population going.
