Fisheries and Oceans Canada has collected a unique, long‐term data set on the social, biological, and economic dynamics of Canada's recreational fisheries. Starting in 1975, these data were collected through mail surveys to recreational anglers at 5‐year intervals. A longitudinal analysis revealed that there was an average of 4.5 million licensed anglers catching an annual average of 255 million fish. Release rates were relatively high (53% of fish released on average), with recent survey data (2010) suggesting that release rates had exceeded 60%. Recreational anglers also contribute an average of $8.8 billion each year to the Canadian economy. However, recreational angling has become less popular over time, and the average age of participants has increased. The data were also useful for characterizing Canada's fisheries, including species‐specific catch and harvest. Canada is one of the few countries to collect such extensive recreational fisheries data at a national scale and to do so at regular intervals, an approach that could be modeled by other countries.
Fisheries interactions that result in the capture and release of fish can cause behavioral impairments that increase the risk of postrelease predation. Increased predation risk has been attributed to reduced swimming capabilities; however, the role of refuge (structural shelter) use is still poorly understood. We examined the effect of fishing-related stressors on the ability of subadult Great Barracuda Sphyraena barracuda to attain refuge in an experimental wetland in Eleuthera, The Bahamas. Twenty-two Great Barracuda were either treated as controls with minimum stress, chased to exhaustion, or chased to exhaustion and air exposed for 90 s. Reflex action mortality predictors (RAMP) including ability to maintain equilibrium and bursting response were assessed prior to release at a standardized location. The prop roots of red mangrove Rhizophora mangle provided refuge about 5 m from the release point. Great Barracuda were visually monitored for up to 30 min postrelease to quantify behavior (resting, swimming, directional changes) and the time when refuge was reached. The RAMP scores increased with the degree of stressor, and fish in both fishing-related stressor treatments took significantly longer to reach refuge than control fish, while air exposed fish took significantly longer than fish that were only chased. Prior to reaching refuge, fish exposed to fishing-related stressors spent less time swimming, and changed directions more frequently than control fish, indicating that impaired locomotory capabilities and disorientation inhibited refuge use. The inability to find refuge after an acute stressor such as capture and release fisheries may be an important factor contributing to postrelease mortality for relevant species.
Recreational catch-and-release angling is a popular activity. Anglers often use landing nets to shorten fight times, reduce stress on the line and rod, restrict fish movement to facilitate dehooking of the fish, and protect fish from undue harm caused by handling or dropping. Landing nets are constructed using a variety of netting materials that could have varied consequences when coming in contact with fish. Salmonids are among the most targeted fishes in the world, but little is known about how landing nets contribute to postcapture tissue damage. We compared handling time and instances of fin fraying, scale loss, and mucus loss sustained by Brook Trout Salvelinus fontinalis landed by four net mesh types (i.e., large, knotless rubber mesh; knotless nylon micromesh; large, knotted polypropylene mesh; and small, knotless rubber-coated nylon mesh) or by using bare wet hands in a recreational fishery. The knotted polypropylene mesh resulted in the greatest extent of fin fraying, whereas the bare wet hands method, knotless nylon micromesh, and rubber-coated nylon mesh resulted in the most scale loss. Interestingly, extended handling times were noted for several mesh types (i.e., knotless nylon micromesh and rubber-coated nylon mesh) relative to bare wet hands because of hook entanglement in the netting material. However, using bare wet hands to land Brook Trout resulted in higher odds of the fish being dropped into the bottom of the boat. We concluded that the large, knotless rubber mesh was the least damaging to Brook Trout. Changes to angler practices, such as using appropriate landing tools, can benefit fish welfare in catch-and-release fisheries.
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