Using a descending device is the most effective method for recreational fishermen to release red fish and red grouper that have been actually traumatized by the pressure change they have experienced during the ascent. According to a study published in Fisheries Research, this technique ensures the highest possibility of success when it comes to fish that are let go because they are out of season or too little.
Chris Stallings, an associate professor at the USF College of Marine Science and the study’s lead author, expressed the hope that people will consider ligature equipment because the science is clear.
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A descending system is a balanced tool that is fastened to the fish’s mouth and aids in the return of the object to its original depth( after which it is safely released ) According to Stallings,” Our research refutes the widely held notion that these devices only transform the discarded seafood into shark bait.”
Fishers have typically assisted a fish in returning to depth by venting its swim bladder, piercing it with an acute, lifeless needle that quickly releases the trapped air so the fish can swim back to the depths on its own.
In this review, fish were twice as likely to succeed as those that were vented after being recompressed using a descending gadget to at least 60 feet.
GETTING TO THE Information
The classic gas law you may have learned in seventh grade — that a gas’s pressure and volume are inversely related— is the root of injury, the same problem SCUBA divers encounter if they ascend to immediately. The size of the gas in a fish’s swim bladder increases as the pressure drops, much like when it is reeled into shallower water, giving it the appearance of being about to burst. Gas-filled sacs known as swim bladders aid fish like red snapper and dark fishes in regulating their buoyancy. No every bass possesses them.
Bass with swim vessels pulled up from a depth of approximately 60 ft or deeper are affected by injury. Bulbous eye, bloated stomach, and enlarged intestines are among the symptoms. Some fish can die from injuries or hunting and never fully recover from the injury. ( Go to Barotrauma|FWC( myfwc.com ) for great information. )
The team conducted 14 research trips to the Panhandle and the West Florida Shelf, two regions of the southeast Gulf of Mexico, due west of Tampa Bay, in 2014 and 2016 as part of this study in collaboration with the charter boat fishing industry. They caught and tagged 190 groupers and 1030 snappers, and they compared which technique — venting or recompression using a descender device called the SeaQualizer, which costs about$ 60 — performed best.
Additionally, they used a fish” elevator ,” which was frequently used in milk crates but was in this study used to monitor the behavior of fish that had descended inside of cages with outward-swinging doors on the bottom and an attached GoPro. Later, fishermen reported the tagged seafood so the crew could track the information.
The distinction was startling, Stallings remarked. Fish weighted with the SeaQualizer and released at a depth of at least 60 feet, where their swim bladders normally recompressed, had life rates that were two to 2.5 times higher than those of vented fish, according to label transfer rates. Bass that had been vented and recompressed to depths of less than 60 ft experienced similar success. In other words, deeper was preferable, even though Stallings said it wasn’t necessary to return the fish to a level of more than 60 foot.
Two of the Gulf of Mexico’s most sought-after and prized reef fish are the red snapper and dark fishes. In the Gulf, where fishing is a year-round sport and pastime, experts estimate that ignores account for more than 75 % of the outdoor capture of red fish and red fishes.
If people use recompression techniques, there may be a significant difference in the overall number of fish that survive, he said, taking into account how many dark fish and dark fishes are discarded.
A Gift TO A FRIEND AND COLLEAGUE WHO WAS MISSED
In the eastern Gulf of Mexico, this review is the first of its kind. Similar findings have been obtained from studies on different barotrauma species and regions, including the east coast of the US, where descending devices are used more frequently.
Coauthor Oscar” Butch” Ayala, who tragically passed away two days after the study was published, oversaw the fieldwork for this research. Ayala, a graduate student of Stallings’ before, spent more than 15 years working as an assistant research scientist at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute( FWRI ). He played a key role in creating the at-sea observing system for FWRI, which enhances crucial stock analysis data.
His work on this study adds great value for fish managers and anglers in the Gulf, Stallings said.” We miss his power, kindness, and jealous fishing skills so much.”
However, there is still work to be done. According to Stallings, we must take into account prevention strategies not only on a species-by-species basis but also in the context of local differences, such as how deep fishers fish, the techniques they employ, and what predators might eat the fish that are released, among other things.
The tradition of Butch endures.
University of Southern Florida student Kristen Kusek
