Publication Date

5-2009

Series Number

191

Publisher

Department of Fisheries, Western Australia

City

Perth

ISBN

1 921258 55 1

ISSN

1035 - 4549

Abstract

Final FRDC Report – Project 2000/194

In Australia, most fishery managers regulate the catch of recreational fishes using size and bag limits. The effectiveness of these regulations depends on the fish surviving capture and then release back into the water. Effective management of fishing using size or bag limits therefore requires an understanding of the rates of mortality of released fish and what factors are causing mortality so that these might be alleviated. The rates and likely causes of mortality of released WA dhufish (Glaucosoma hebraicum) and snapper (Pagrus auratus), breaksea cod (Epinephelides armatus) and baldchin groper (Choerodon rubescens) off south-western Australia were assessed in this study using (i) caging experiments (dhufish and snapper only) and (ii) a tag and recapture experiment for all four species.

The caging experiment involved replicating recreational catch and release fishing activities for dhufish and snapper, with fish returned to their depth of capture in a cage for 1 to 5 days following capture.

Number of Pages

130

Keywords

Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, barotrauma, post-release mortality, release methods, fish handling

Disciplines

Aquaculture and Fisheries | Environmental Monitoring | Natural Resources and Conservation | Natural Resources Management and Policy

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