Cryptic Mortality

[Bonefish]

When I sit down to watch a fishing segment on TV and someone holds up a bass to show the audience with the fish’s mouth held open with its body extended horizontally, my wife has a fit. For years she has said it is damaging the fish’s jaw, and it may not be able to feed once released. Because of her insistence, I have tried not to extend the jaw of a bass with its weight extended once caught, but I did this without any research to support it. However, I happened to pick up “The Angler” magazine last week, and before I got to look through it, my wife starting turning the pages…and to her delight, there it was…an article by Mark Sosin, an award-winning writer, a leading educator, journalist, and one of America’s most knowledgeable fishing authorities, saying what she has thought for a long time.

I practice “catch and release” and do not eat any larger or smallmouth bass because I would rather eat bluegill and crappie and leave the bass to grow. I just find the bluegill and crappie taste so much better myself. In Mark Sosin’s article, he is suggesting that we release correctly. The fish should be released quickly as possible, rather than waiting for the fish to be exhausted. The fish should be handled as little as possible and kept in the water during the release process. Lifting a fish by the jaw can damage internal organs and/or damage the delicate region under the jaw unless you support its belly. Once the jaw is compromised, feeding may be impossible. Hanging a fish from a hand scale to weigh also may damage the fish. A fish may swim off looking healthy but may not survive. Researchers call this “cryptic mortality” because they cannot calculate the percentage that dies. Fish rely on a vacuum created in the mouth to draw prey into it. Any hole in the jaw takes away this feeding advantage.

I think it is important to use common sense when it comes to protecting our natural resources, including following creel limits, correct catch and release techniques and wildlife regulations.

[HawgHunter75]

Nice Post and good info. Kudos to the Misses I hope people pay attention to this.

[mrwill35]

It bothers me also. Bill Dance spoke of this subject probably 20 years ago.

[Ddot]

I try to do my best to release the fish while still in the water. My fishing friends always getmad at me for not landing the fish. I dont care to "show off" my catch. I would only do this if it was biggest ever and then i would still take all care. I always support the fat ass belly when i "have" to pull them out of water. Glad their is some info that supports my ways. Id hate to hurt my favorite hobby. I clamp down the hooks on my crankbaits. I never keep any fish. I feel im practicing correct catch and release. Thx for info...

[roadrunner]

I'm not sure I buy this I have lived on a seven acre lake for twenty five years I have always handled fish by the lower jaw and I have never witnessed dead fish other than the few times I gut hooked a fish and tried to release him I might see him floating the next day.

As far as the vacuum in the mouth what I have witnessed is they **** water through there mouth and gills which pull the bait into their open mouth, I do not think a hole in the mouth area would affect this.

Sorry I just don't see any evidence to support this theory..

[Bonefish]

Ron Taylor is a biologist at the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute

Taylor said he had mixed feeling about Boga Grips and their use. “Let's be honest, there has been no research on this implement and the only study comes from Australia. The researcher captured barramundi with a net, held them vertically long enough to weigh and measure them and then placed them in a holding pen. Within 48 hours all of them had died. Their carcasses were taken to a hospital and x-rayed. The films revealed that many vertebrae had separated by as much as 2 millimeters and that the internal connective tissue was damaged. A Boga was not used, nor were the barramundi suspended by the top jaw, but by the lower jaw. So i have no observations on which to base an answer to Dave’s question. I can only tell you what seems logical to me. “

Taylor asserts that by holding any large fish vertically leaves the fish vulnerable to injury. “Certainly by grasping the upper jaw removes the possibility of injuring the isthmus but does nothing to prevent lumbar separation or internal damage. But let me say something here- not every fish that is 'Boga-ed' will be suffering injuries.” Taylor said his dilemma in having not used a Boga Grip in the FWC mortality study conducted back in 1998-2000. He said that they had a 2.13% mortality rate from catch-and-release fishing on snook, adding that “if we use 2.13% as a minimum rate, then we have lost about 38% of the total snook harvest in 2004 just from hooking injury. Now add the possibility of additional injury caused by a Boga Grip and you understand the problem. So it behooves each and every angler to treat each and every fish caught with the utmost care so as not to damage the fish.”

[Bonefish]

If you go to www.mywildalberta.com and pull up "Fish Handling Techniques" the following are some of the comments on protecting fish from injury.

Safe fish handling is especially important in a catch-and-release fishery. Catch and release regulations are in place to help fish populations grow when they have been overharvested, or when the water body needs time to establish health and productivity.
Releasing a fish doesn’t guarantee its survival, but careful handling can reduce the stress on fish and gives it a better chance to live and reproduce.
Walleye and perch have a reduced chance of survival if they are caught in water deeper than seven metres, brought to the surface, and then released. When walleye or perch are caught in deep water, their swim bladders can’t adapt quickly enough to the change in atmospheric pressure. This causes the fish equivalent of ‘the bends’. The internal damage that results will likely kill the fish.
If you are fishing deep water, and catch a prohibited fish, it must be put back, even if it dies. The sportfishing regulations state that you must release every fish that cannot be legally kept because of species, catch limit, size limit, or other regulations, without exception, even if the fish is injured or dead.
Walleye and perch should be fished in relatively shallow water, where there are great angling opportunities.
Walleye and perch have a reduced chance of survival if they are caught in water deeper than seven metres, brought to the surface, and then released. When walleye or perch are caught in deep water, their swim bladders can’t adapt quickly enough to the change in atmospheric pressure. This causes the fish equivalent of ‘the bends’. The internal damage that results will likely kill the fish.
If you are fishing deep water, and catch a prohibited fish, it must be put back, even if it dies. The sportfishing regulations state that you must release every fish that cannot be legally kept because of species, catch limit, size limit, or other regulations, without exception, even if the fish is injured or dead.
Walleye and perch should be fished in relatively shallow water, where there are great angling opportunities.
A fish with a swollen swim bladder will have sides that are hard where they should be fleshy, or will have the swim bladder protruding from its mouth. If you wish to release a fish with a swollen swim bladder, do not fizz it (poke a hole in the swim bladder so the fish sinks). Fizzing does not increase survival, but causes injury, stress, and almost certain mortality.
Fish with swollen swim bladders should be released gently into the water. With enough time, a swollen swim bladder can correct itself. The fish may float belly up on the water, but it has a better chance of survival if left on its own.
When fishing where there is a size limit, carry a measuring stick. Leave the fish in the water and hold the stick beside it to determine if it’s legal length. If it is legal length and you are keeping it, hold the fish in a rubber mesh net or a holding cradle to measure it again to ensure it is legal. If it’s not legal length, gently remove the hook with needle-nose pliers and release the fish.
Remember the 'fair chase' principle: minimize the time that you handle the fish once it is on the hook. Handling a fish to exhaustion may cause it to die later.
Keep fish in the water while handling and releasing them. If you must handle fish, completely wet your hands or wear soft cotton or wool gloves that have been soaked in water. This prevents damage to the fish's protective mucous surface.
Act quickly by having your measuring board or camera ready if you must measure or photograph your catch. Minimize the time the fish is out of the water.
Prepare in advance to release your fish by choosing a hook that can be removed from the fish's mouth easily or use landing nets when they help quick release. Use needle-nose pliers to remove hooks and never tear a hook from a fish. If the hook is deeply embedded in the fish's throat, snip the line and release the fish, leaving the hook in place. The hook will eventually dissolve.
When handling a fish that is to be released, be gentle. Don’t squeeze the fish or put your fingers in its eyes or gills since this increases mortality. Limit the time the fish is out of the water, and whenever possible, unhook the fish without removing it from the water.
When releasing a fish, never just throw it into the water. If you have to handle a fish, release it gently and headfirst. A fish will often swim away on its own. If it doesn’t, hold the fish gently in front of its tail and slowly move it back and forth to push fresh water over its gills. Release it when it begins to swim away.
If the fish will be used for food, dispatch it quickly and keep it on ice.
Holding fish in a livewell or on a stringer with the intention of releasing them once a larger fish is caught reduces survival rates after release. Studies show that mortality of released fish significantly increases if they are held in rough and/or warm waters. If you plan on keeping a fish, you should dispatch it quickly and keep it cool, preferably on ice.

[inrll]

Very good info. I have always hated seeing people jack their jaw like that. Holding a fish by its lower jaw vertically I think is almost unavoidable when removing treble hooks but I still always get them back in the water ASAP. This is the "jaw jacking" that I hate seeing. (the one on the left)

[Embrey]

I'm not sure I buy this I have lived on a seven acre lake for twenty five years I have always handled fish by the lower jaw and I have never witnessed dead fish other than the few times I gut hooked a fish and tried to release him I might see him floating the next day.

As far as the vacuum in the mouth what I have witnessed is they **** water through there mouth and gills which pull the bait into their open mouth, I do not think a hole in the mouth area would affect this.

Sorry I just don't see any evidence to support this theory..

i agree...all a bunch of crap. guess they better tell vandam and all the guys to quit doing it too...lol. unless the fish is really big, i dont see it. and i catch fish all the time with 3 or 4 holes in its mouth. guess their suction still works pretty good

[sweetwater]

Does holding a fish by the jaw damage it anymore than riding it around in a livewell with 4 or 5 other fish for the better part of a day then carrying them onshore in a plastic bag to be weighed, then you pick it up by that same jaw for a photo then release it in water that is sometimes several miles away from where it was caught? Just a thought.

[fishinfreak]

That's weird that they say a hole in a bass' mouth can cause them to not be able to eat when I've caught plenty of bass missing their top lip or the corner of their jaw had been ripped out. I remember a few years back my buddy caught a 6 pounder that had a mouth that looked like Swiss cheese she must have been caught 10 times in her lifetime.

[nitro929]

I killed him