The foregoing review briefly summarizes the salient investigations on the reproductive physiology of fishes with emphasis on cultivated species. At present, there is a communication gap between fish endocrinologists working in University laboratories and fish biologists working in the field mainly on hypophysation of fish. The former workers would be conversant with the physiological and environmental regulation of reproduction, whereas the latter may often be not familiar with the recent trends in reproductive physiology. Due to limitations of space and resources, the investigator in the University laboratory has often to use smaller and easily manageable species of fish which in many cases do not have any commercial importance.
Further, the results obtained under strictly controlled conditions of the laboratory may not always be applicable to the seminatural conditions of a fish farm. Hence, there is an urgent need and a tremendous scope for collaboration between the basic research workers and the aquaculturist. It is important that research scientists should test their laboratory findings and working hypotheses under field conditions using cultivated fishes as models.
