Abstract
The standard response to the question "why do fish reach first maturity when they do" is that, at some point (or age), they perceive environmental stimuli, which are converted via the pituitary and the hypothalamus into triggers for a hormonal cascade leading to gonadal maturation and the release of gametes. Yet, the question rarely asked is why fully formed young fish do not respond to the environmental stimuli that the adults react to by maturing and spawning. This question requires an answer, from ichthyologists and/or physiologists, e.g., in the form of a heuristic that individual fish can use, even if the explanation provided here (elaborating on a causal mechanism for the juvenile-to-adult proposed by the author in 1984) should be considered inadequate. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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