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Consequences of Incidental Otter Trawl Capture on Survival and Physiological Condition of Threatened Atlantic Sturgeon
Author(s) -
Beardsall Jeffrey W.,
McLean Montana F.,
Cooke Steven J.,
Wilson Brian C.,
Dadswell Michael J.,
Redden Anna M.,
Stokesbury Michael J. W.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
transactions of the american fisheries society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.696
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1548-8659
pISSN - 0002-8487
DOI - 10.1080/00028487.2013.806347
Subject(s) - bycatch , fishery , acipenser , overfishing , threatened species , sturgeon , otter , population , endangered species , biology , catch and release , bay , seabird , fishing , ecology , habitat , geography , recreational fishing , fish <actinopterygii> , demography , archaeology , sociology , predation
Atlantic Sturgeon Acipenser oxyrinchus aggregate in Minas Basin in the inner Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia, during summer, presumably to feed on abundant intertidal invertebrates. The Atlantic Sturgeon aggregation is composed of multiple stocks from Canada and the USA. Government agencies from both nations have recently recognized Atlantic Sturgeon as threatened or endangered due to overfishing and habitat degradation. Little is known about the fate of Atlantic Sturgeon that are captured as bycatch in fisheries targeting other species, making it difficult to determine the extent to which bycatch is contributing to the Atlantic Sturgeon population's decline. To characterize the effects of otter trawl capture and release on Atlantic Sturgeon, we calculated a minimum survival rate for fish after catch and release by using acoustic telemetry, and we examined physiological indicators of stress. The minimum postrelease survival rate from otter trawl capture events was high (94% survival). Results also demonstrated that the magnitude of blood lactate in trawl‐captured fish relative to experimental control fish increased with longer handling times. Trawl capture and handling did not cause significantly elevated levels of blood glucose or cortisol relative to those of controls. Minimization of handling time (i.e., time on deck) should be a priority in trawl fisheries that capture Atlantic Sturgeon as bycatch. Future studies should attempt to quantify the postcapture behavior of these fish to better understand whole‐organism condition after fisheries encounters.