Catch & Release Survival rates 4gamefish

[wiseguy67]

When i see pics of deckies and stoked fishos holding bills for a photo befor release i wonder how in the hell did they get them to calm down unless they are so close to death they have no energy left to spare.
Then there is the question of does the released fish survive?
I have done some reading:
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/organizations/ssg/sharknews/sn7/shark7news15.htm

"Quote from saltwater chat"

http://www.ausfish.com.au/cgi-ausfish/yabb2/YaBB.cgi?num=1143007058

As I am land based i have no experience in bill fishing other than when i worked on a longliner, and no intention to target bills as releasing bill from the rocks would be a bit too much of a challenge for me. #

But there are a few fishos on this website that have experience and my question to them is have you ever caught a tagged bill/game fish?
I am not against game fishing, don't take this post as an attempt to stir things up #

If I had a chance i would enjoy the challenge.

Gerard

[choppa]

dont know too much about the survival rate of released fish after being caught,,,,,but i think its a safe bet that the fish that owned the remnants next to ya right foot didnt do to well,,,,,,,,,,,,


chop,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

[jeffo]

if dealt with properly then yes i think they have a very good chance of survival... swimming them prior to release is always a big help...as is not gut hooking them and trying to avoid long battles.

i havent caught a tagged billfish but i have had one of my little blacks recaught....


by a longliner of fraser.

[Wear_the_fox_hat]

Looking at the position that fish is being held in, I would say it it's having a long hard look over it's shoulder. :o

[roz]

Hi Gerard,

I think it's hard to really be certain about survival rates of bill fish/game fish.

I do have from good authority that the shed rates for tags is well over 60%, so your next bill fish my well have had a tag in it's shoulder when it was released.

Yes, I have caught tagged fish, and seen tagged game fish caught by friends of mine.

I have also had the privilege of tagging and releasing my one and only sail fish, I was able to get two tags into it before letting it go. I didn't bring the fish on board...lessens the chances of survival, i still got pic of it in the water anyway.

I have also tagged and released dozens of tuna, king fish and about 8 mackeral. As far as I know none have been recaptured, or at least I havn't been notified.

One thing is certain, if the fish are not returned to the water!!!

At least catching a tagged fish can provide valuable information on migration patterns and growth rates.

cheers roz

[Barrymundi]

Only a few are taken out of the water for pictures.

Most are tagged in the water and released quickly.

What are the fish parts in your photo ?

Al

[fishingnottake]

they're shark fins mate

[Barrymundi]

you are kidding ?

[wiseguy67]

you are kidding ?



PHOTO taken in 1987 while working on a commercial 150ft longliner from Japan fishing somewhere in the Great Australian Bight 200 to 300km out.

the blue fin was going for $57.00 a kg on the japanese market and the shark fins were $12.00kg
The only sharks that were kept whole or rather fillets were the Mako, all the whalers etc were finned ond over the side, no joke it was hundreds a day.
Longline rig: #mainline #50km long with 3000 branch lines 300 floats, 12 light buoys and 4 Radio buoys. #
Took 5hrs to shoot the lot and up to 24hrs to bring it in.
As far as hard yakka well not much sleep max 5hrs one night 6.5 the next. 3 months no land.
Good money though. I was getting 500 a week plus %bonus and flights etc. reminding that this was 1987

[choppa]

well that makes it better,,,,,,you should have said that in the first place,,,,,,,,

hundreds a day eh,,,,,,,,,,,,,,$12/kg,,,,,,what say the average fish gives ya a couple of kilo of its fin weight,,,x 100 or 2 a day,,,, and ya out for 3 months at a time,,,,,,,,,

some of them whalers though deserve it,,,,ya know your 200-300 km out from land,,,,,,dont want em scaring the littl folk on the beaches,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,chop >:( >:( >:( >:(

[CHRIS_aka_GWH]

Gerard,

from the article you offered

"Minimum tracking periods for these fish were eight hours, with the exception of one blue shark which was followed for four hours. All fish survived this tracking and appeared to recover from the physiological effects of exhaustive exercise. "

the non-reappearance of tagged fish can also be explained as in the flathead experience with inadequate tagging technology & techniques, & professional capture.

the NSW government is all but convinced released marlins can be recaptured if handled correctly http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/47773/20050217/www.fisheries.nsw.gov.au/rec/pdf/stripedmarlin.pdf
the study compares the economic benefit of recreational & charter business to that of pro-fishing capture & as part of its premise assumes released marlins have a high survival rate.

chris