Current and future directions for pike ecology and management: a summary and synthesis

Abstract

The pike (Esox lucius L.) is an exceptionally well-studied species of fish. Its biology, ecology andmanagement have been targeted in numerous studiesduring several decades (e.g. Crossman & Casselman,1987; Raat, 1988; Craig, 1996 and referencestherein). Being a northern hemisphere circumpolarspecies, pike is the subject of research in manycountries and cultures. A multitude of approaches topike research have accumulated in the literature overthe years. We do not seek to unify the body ofinternational pike research, but rather advocate thediversity of approaches to further the comprehensionof the species and its interactions.Open communication channels between research-ers from different countries or fields of pikeresearch are of utmost importance for the facilita-tion and progression of pike research. This purposewas intended and served at the ‘‘ International Pikesymposium: Merging Knowledge of Ecology, Biol-ogy and Management for a Circumpolar Species’’ ,held at the 136th annual meeting of the AmericanFisheries Society in Lake Placid 2006. The objec-tive of the symposium, ‘‘to create and facilitateinformation exchanges regarding northern pikebiology and management across political and geo-graphic boundaries’’, was certainly met by theparticipants who represented five countries inEurope (Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Swedenand UK), two provinces in Canada and six statesfrom the east to west coast of the US in NorthAmerica. The 28 presentations (Table 1) and twopanel discussions during the symposium covered awide variety of topics encompassing ecology,biology and management of pike. In the currentcontribution, we extract views and themes from thesymposium in an attempt to summarise where pikeresearch is at present, with reflections on where itmay take us. We approach this intricate task byoutlining the symposium communications on theecology and management issues around the pike,some of which are published in this special issue ofHydrobiologia.