Relentless commercial fishing can trigger rapid evolutionary changes when only smaller, younger fish are left behind, a study released Wednesday shows. Moreover, those changes among fish populations -- a desperate bid to adapt -- may be difficult or impossible to reverse. Boom-and-bust cycles in over-fished species can wreak economic havoc on fishing communities and can trigger a downward spiral toward extinction.

Over-fished species go into evolutionary overdrive: study. (2008, April 18). The Philippine Star, pp. B3, B2.