Regulations
applied to the recreational fishery for red snapper in the
Gulf of Mexico necessitate that many hooked and landed individuals
must be subsequently released back to the water. This specifically
would include both regulatory discards (those less than
16 inches in total length) and all individuals landed either
after the daily bag limit has been achieved or outside of
the established fishing season. Most fishermen, especially
those who frequent the deeper waters off Louisiana, are
very familiar with the consequences of pulling up a red
snapper from depth: Eyes bulging, intestine protruding from
anus, air bladder distended and stomach protruding from
mouth, etc. The internal damage caused by this hydrostatically-induced
barotrauma may be lethal in and of itself in some cases,
yet proper handling of “throwbacks” may enhance
chances for post-release survival. The use of “circle”
hooks, gentle de-hooking, and venting of the expanded gases
in the swim bladder all increase the probability that red
snappers can return to depth and survive the entire catch-and-release
experience.
Regulations
currently enforced in the Gulf of Mexico require non-stainless
steel circle hooks to be used when fishing with natural
bait; every vessel must also have both a de-hooking device
and a venting tool onboard. The National Marine Fisheries
Service and the Florida Sea Grant College Program have both
produced Web-based sites that provide a great deal of information
specific to the current regulations and to the tools and
techniques for de-hooking and venting of fishes. These can
be accessed at the following links:
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