Physiological effects of ice‐angling capture and handling on northern pike, Esox lucius

Abstract

Understanding how released fish recover following capture is vital information for researchers examining the effects of angling on exploited populations. This information is virtually non‐existent for fish angled through the ice in winter, despite the popularity of ice‐angling in many northern areas. To address this gap, 60 northern pike, Esox lucius L., were angled through the ice from an impoundment in eastern Wisconsin, USA, and subjected to one of ten combinations of handling and recovery duration. Plasma samples were collected and analysed for cortisol, lactate and glucose. The results showed a delayed response in the elevation of plasma variables, and a significant interaction between air exposure and recovery time for plasma lactate. No fish suffered mortality during the period of holding. Collectively, these data suggest that northern pike are physiologically resilient to ice‐angling capture stress as long as air exposure times are kept at 4 min or less.

Chill out: physiological responses to winter ice-angling in two temperate freshwater fishes

“…However, this delayed recovery curve is similar to that seen in northern pike following ice-angling (Louison et al, 2017), as well as in other studies examining recovery at low temperatures. In one such example, cortisol levels in turbot Scophthalmus maximus held at 10°C did not reach their peak until 2 h post-exercise (Van Ham et al, 2003).…”

Effects of Air Exposure on Survival of Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout Angled from a Stream with Warm Water Temperatures

“…Air exposure up to 60 s had no effect on relative survival of Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout. This finding is consistent with many other studies that have assessed the effects of air exposure on fishes (Schreer et al 2005;Thompson et al 2008;Rapp et al 2014;Louison et al 2016;Gange et al 2017;Roth et al 2018bRoth et al , 2019. Although average fish length was relatively small (206 mm; SD ¼ 47.2) in the present study, our findings are consistent with similar studies that sampled larger Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout and other salmonids (e.g., Gale et al 2011;Roth et al 2019).…”

“…A few studies have shown negative effects of air exposure on survival (Ferguson and Tufts 1992;Gingerich et al 2007;Graves et al 2016), but these studies all have limitations that make it difficult to apply their results more broadly (i.e., laboratory environment, extended fight time, unrealistic air exposure times). The majority of air exposure studies on wild populations have found minimal or no effect on survival (e.g., Thompson et al 2008;Rapp et al 2014;Louison et al 2016;Gange et al 2017;Roth et al 2018b;Twardek et al 2018;Roth et al 2019).…”

Behavioural and fitness effects of translocation to a novel environment: Whole‐lake experiments in two aquatic top predators

“…As we did not observe changes in pike behaviour of the resident stocked relative to controls, it is unlikely that the pike were experiencing the effects of chronic stress from the stocking procedures. These findings agree with earlier studies showing that pike can recover from stressful catch‐and‐release events within a few hours (Arlinghaus, Klefoth, Cooke, Gingerich, & Suski, 2009; Arlinghaus, Klefoth, Kobler, & Cooke, 2008; Louison, Stein, Suski, Hasler, & Fenske, 2016; Pullen et al, 2017). However, Klefoth et al (2011) reported long‐term growth deficits in the from a single hooking and release event in the same study lake, suggesting that behavioural recovery does not necessarily mean that fitness remains unaffected even by a single stressor event under high food competition situations.…”