Fifteen years in the making, this updated edition raises the high standard of Bigelow and Schroeder"s 1953 reference by drawing from a much larger base of information. Thirty-eight experts in fisheries biology and ichthyology clearly distill the enormous amount of knowledge gained during the past fifty years, including distribution figures from thirty years of annual trawl surveys; food habit accounts from surveys of the stomach contents of more than 30,000 fishes; and egg distribution data from a survey exceeding 10,000 samples. The contributors update Bigelow and Schroeder"s 1953 material while presenting a wealth of new information, including thirty-three additional species accounts. By adding fifty percent more material and focusing the volume on data, the editors address the needs of today"s biologists, the commercial fishing industry, and marine enthusiasts, and ensure that Bigelow and Schroeder"s Fishes of the Gulf of Maine, Third Edition, will become the standard work in the field for the next fifty years.