Interacting with sea life look but don't touch!

[bowlofpetunias]

I remember that about 20+ years ago the NJ Charles O. Hayford trout hatchery did a semi-controlled study regarding the survival rates of trout that had been handled after being caught on barbless hooks. The survival rate was frighteningly low due to bacterial infections, but there were many factors that could not be controlled for. I do remember that handling fish gently with moistened hands was much better than using dry hands because of the body slime issue.

Fish can be very tough if not too stressed. I had a full grown Spotted Drum, about a pound of fish, jump out of an aquarium and hit a carpeted floor after a 6 foot drop. I heard the thud from another room and the fish was flapping for about a minute before it was put back in its home. It retreated to its familiar hiding place for days, and looked like hell, all scratched up and grey, for a couple of weeks, but recovered fully without any treatment. In my experience reef fishes need the security of familiar safe surroundings, and schooling fish need their companions in order to recover from trauma.

Over the years I've caught and donated fish to AZA facilities. A few times I've donated fish, like Lookdowns and Catalufas, that I had for many years and which had grown too large. A lot of them die very quickly after being moved. Sometimes professional ichthyologists kill fish because they don't have the wet thumb that some of us who have been keeping fish for half a century and more develop. They often have acclimatization 'protocols' that can kill certain fish, damage their gills or eyes. Telling them anything is often a waste of time.

I have a foot long Spotted Drum and an 8 inch Short Bigeye that will have to stay with me permanently. I've seen professionals kill too many fish.

Very interesting insights thanks. I must say I often cringe when I see the fishing shows where they pull the fish out of the water... hold it gasping for their little chat about how wonderful they are and how exceptional a catch it is then return it to the water. I always wonder if the returning it to the water is more appearing to be environmentally friendly.

I often wonder if they are just giving another predator an unfair advantage while it is weakened or letting it die from injuries, stress or infections. I don't fish but I am not a raging bleeding heart either. I don't object to others exercising their legal rights to fish, spear or use the marine environment appropriately. I will say I am more comfortable with fishing for food than fishing for catch and release.

Interesting comments about the fish and their need for territory or a school. I have noticed how territorial fish are and some of our sites I can tell where I am in bad viz by recognizing the fish. I often wonder when one goes missing from a territory because of habitat destruction just how easily they can set up in another home base. I remember a Blotched Hawkfish that lived in a certain sponge for 4 or 5 years, we had some HUGE seas that destroyed the sponge and I never saw him again. There were a lot of changes after those high seas.

I found a sponge with an Orangutang Crab in it. It was there for a very long time then someone wrecked the sponge and I couldn't find it again. One of the reasons I am very careful who I show "my finds" to.

 

[TMHeimer]

bowlofpetunias, Good point about catch & release. I have always fished for food. When the big push for catch & release became the norm, I always wondered why this is such a good thing. The law in Manitoba is you must use barbless hooks, obviously to not injure the fish (AS MUCH...) while removing it to release. I would guess we will never know the true impact catch & release has, unless there is some testing by tagging released fish.

 

[bowlofpetunias]

That would certainly be a worth while study for a Marine biology student to undertake I wonder if DrBill has anything to say on the topic...

---------- Post added March 1st, 2015 at 05:35 PM ----------

Interesting info here... Peacock Bass Science - Catch and Release fishing and Environmental Conservation

 

[drbill]

Ah, I found this part of the thread.

I had a close friend who was an avid billfish angler and marine conservationist. Initially his contention was that catch-and-release did not involve high death rates. I argued that in their weakened condition after battling the angler and with the high build-up of lactic acid in their muscle tissue that I expected the death rate to be on the order of 50% which he couldn't believe. Being the head of a foundation that funds a lot of good research, he funded a study on the post-release mortality of caught billfish and discovered the mortality rate was indeed in the 50% range. Then he conducted a second study involved catch-and-release using circle hooks instead of standard barbed hooks. The mortality rate was significantly lower.

As a marine biologist and underwater videographer, I occasionally touch critters to get a better video sequence. Generally I only touch critters which should be able to handle relatively minimal contact but occasionally I touch other critters where the video I shoot might be critical for scientific (species ID) or educational purposes. In general I don't take specimens any more like I did occasionally back in the 60s and 70s for my research.

 

[Z Gear]

Ah, I found this part of the thread.

I had a close friend who was an avid billfish angler and marine conservationist. Initially his contention was that catch-and-release did not involve high death rates. I argued that in their weakened condition after battling the angler and with the high build-up of lactic acid in their muscle tissue that I expected the death rate to be on the order of 50% which he couldn't believe. Being the head of a foundation that funds a lot of good research, he funded a study on the post-release mortality of caught billfish and discovered the mortality rate was indeed in the 50% range. Then he conducted a second study involved catch-and-release using circle hooks instead of standard barbed hooks. The mortality rate was significantly lower.

As a marine biologist and underwater videographer, I occasionally touch critters to get a better video sequence. Generally I only touch critters which should be able to handle relatively minimal contact but occasionally I touch other critters where the video I shoot might be critical for scientific (species ID) or educational purposes. In general I don't take specimens any more like I did occasionally back in the 60s and 70s for my research.

I was under the impression that the reason for the high rate of death among the catch and release was due to the handling of the fish.Trying to remove a barbed versus a barbless hook would require more time to remove and thus present more damage a particular fish.
More importantly wouldn't the removal of the protective slime layer be an important factor which could cause the high rate of death among these fish. Just IMO.

Frank G
Z GEAR - Z Gear

 

[DaleC]

I would think that the mechanical damage done to the fish by a hook also plays a part. In this old video, between 1:40 and 1:45 you can see a trout that has a portion of it's gill protruding from being hooked.

[video=youtube;EJZA1WYQbdI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJZA1WYQbdI[/video]

I had to give up catch and release fishing after awhile because I knew I was causing the fish psychological stress and occasionally real harm by setting the hook too deep or in the wrong place.

 

[bowlofpetunias]

I would think that the mechanical damage done to the fish by a hook also plays a part. In this old video, between 1:40 and 1:45 you can see a trout that has a portion of it's gill protruding from being hooked.

[video=youtube;EJZA1WYQbdI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJZA1WYQbdI[/video]

I had to give up catch and release fishing after awhile because I knew I was causing the fish psychological stress and occasionally real harm by setting the hook too deep or in the wrong place.

YES! I knew it.... I was watching that thinking... that HAS to be Pavillion Lake! Thanks for the stroll down memory lane! Good shots of the Microbilities!

Thanks DrBill I knew you would have something worth reading about for us here.