Blood lactate loads of redthroat emperor Lethrinus miniatus associated with angling stress and exhaustive exercise

Baseline, post‐angling and maximum attainable blood lactate concentrations were measured for the fishery species redthroat emperor Lethrinus miniatus to gain insight into the condition of fish released following c . 30 s angling and <45 s air exposure. Mean ±  s.d . baseline blood lactate was 1·5 ± 0·6 mmol l −1 , which increased and plateaued around 6 mmol l −1 at 15–30 min post‐angling. These values were significantly lower than those obtained from fish maximally exhausted with a prolonged chase and air exposure protocol following capture (10·9 ± 1·8 mmol l −1 ), suggesting that L. miniatus is not maximally exhausted during standard angling practices.