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- Title
Release Mortality of Undersized Fish from the Snapper-Grouper Complex off the North Carolina Coast.
- Authors
Overton, Anthony S.; Zabawski, John; Riley, Kenneth L.
- Abstract
Red porgy Pagrus pagrus, scamps Mycteroperca phenax, and gags M. microlepis support valuable recreational and commercial fisheries in North Carolina. Fish in the snapper-grouper complex are managed to prevent overfishing and maintain a stable spawning stock. We investigated postrelease mortality of 263 undersized red porgy, scamps, and gags that were captured by angling and subjected to short-term (2 h) and long-term (48 h) holding experiments. Fish were caught at depths ranging from 15 to 45 m using traditional bottom-fishing hook-and-line gear. Catch per unit effort ranged from 0.11 to 1.80 fish/rod-hour (FRH) for sublegal-sized fish and from 0.06 to 0.50 FRH for legal-sized fish. Nontarget species predominated in the catch (N = 1,135), but the red porgy was the most frequently caught individual species (N = 196). The effects of short-term (2-h) holding within species were similar between fish held in different locations (oxygenated live well or cage anchored to the seafloor); mortality did not differ between the two holding location groups. Mortality of fish subjected to short-term holding in the live well was 6.1%; mortality of fish in the submerged cage was 10.5% for the 2-h holding period and 12.3% for the 48-h holding period. There was no significant effect of anatomical hook location on mortality of gags or scamps. However, hook location significantly affected survival of red porgy; individuals hooked in the lip were 11.34 times more likely to survive than fish hooked in other locations. The results of this study suggest that short-term holding is appropriate for assessing mortality of undersized fish caught offshore in a hook-and-line fishery.
- Subjects
NORTH Carolina; RED porgy; PAGRUS; MYCTEROPERCA; FISHERIES; FISHES
- Publication
North American Journal of Fisheries Management, 2008, Vol 28, Issue 3, p733
- ISSN
0275-5947
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1577/M07-025.1