“…As reported above, follicular atresia is a normal component of fish oogenesis and it is observed throughout the ovarian cycle, although it is more frequent in regressing ovaries during the postspawning period (Ganias et al., 2008 ; Miranda et al., 1999 ; Saidapur, 1978 ). Generally, follicular atresia does not preclude the reproductive success of fish populations; however, an increase of the atretic rate beyond physiological rates can reduce the annual fecundity and even cause reproduction failure of both wild (Ganias et al., 2008 ; Hunter et al., 1992 ; Jørgensen et al., 2006 ; Kraus et al., 2008 ; Kurita et al., 2003 ; Neves et al, 2009 ; Rideout et al., 2005 , Rideout and Tomkiewicz, 2011 ; Witthames & Greer Walker, 1995 ) and captive‐reared fish stocks (Corriero, Desantis, et al., 2007 ; Corriero, Medina, et al., 2007 ; Corriero et al., in press ; Fakriadis, Miccoli, et al., 2020 ; Kjesbu et al., 1991 ; Ma et al., 1998 ; Mylonas et al., 2010 ; Pousis et al., 2018 , 2019 ; Zupa et al., 2013 ; Zupa, Fauvel, et al., 2017 ; Zupa, Rodríguez, et al., 2017 ). Extensive follicular atresia and spawning omission are the most efficient strategy to optimize fecundity in case of low body energy reserves (Kennedy et al., 2008 ; Rideout et al., 2000 , 2005 ) and, in general, the lower the food intake the higher the proportion of atretic vitellogenic follicles (Kennedy et al., 2008 ; Kjesbu et al., 1991 ; Ma et al., 1998 ; Scott, 1962 ).…”