I thought a good way to get going would be to gain some data from Shark tagging programs from around the world that seem to be really open with the facts and figures of tagging. Subjects covered in their papers include the amount and types of sharks tagged, loads of data concerning recapture rates, mortality, physiological stress response, reflex impairment, and survival of shark species following experimental capture and release. When you start to become interested in what is really happening in the conservation projects in Scottish waters you will find there is very little data available to the general public i have turned my eye over the pond to the Leonard and Jayne Abess Center for Ecosystem Science and Policy., University of Miami, Dunlap Marine Conservation Program, Beneath the Waves Inc., Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami., National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast Fisheries Science Center., Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Laboratory, Canada, and Ottawa-Carleton Institute of Biology and Institute of Environmental Science, Carleton University, for the first part of information from one of their papers, the study covered 5 species of sharks, (great hammerhead, bull, blacktip, lemon, and tiger). Although it was once assumed that fishes released alive with no obvious signs of injury will survive capture and release with minimal fitness impacts (Wydoski 1977), they often succumb to post- release mortality, even days after release. Informa- tion on delayed mortality is needed by wildlife fishery managers and scientists to estimate fishing mortality levels conducive to sustainable fishing practices (Bartholomew & Bohnsack 2005, Lewin et al. 2006). Therefore, there is wide interest in understanding the timing of, and conditions that bring about, post-release mortality, as well as how to minimize mortality of discarded or released individuals (Cooke & Cowx 2004). Numerous studies have focused on the lethal (initial, short-term, and delayed mortality) and sublethal (e.g. physiological disturbances, injury, changes in post-release behavior) endpoints of teleost fishes that are hooked and released in both commercial and recreational fisheries (Chopin & Arimoto 1995, Cooke & Suski 2005, Serafy et al. 2009). Such studies now number more than 300 for recreational fisheries alone (Arlinghaus et al. 2007). Until recently, research directed toward understanding the physiological consequences of hook and line capture on sharks has been relatively rare (e.g. Moyes et al. 2006, Mandelman & Skomal 2009). However, given declines in certain shark populations, there is an increasing trend toward management regulations that require release of threatened or protected species that are captured (i.e. shark sanctuaries), and many recre- ational fishers are now adopting voluntary release procedures in the name of conservation (Babcock 2008, Skomal et al. 2008). Thus, there is a need to understand the consequences of hook and line capture and release on sharks to both in crease post-release survival and to determine if these activities are compatible with regulations and voluntary conservation practices where sharks are released.
Posted on: Sun, 16 Nov 2014 08:31:31 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015