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Initial Mortality in Texas Black Bass Fishing Tournaments
Author(s) -
Ostrand Kenneth G.,
Wilde Gene R.,
Strickland Dan W.,
Muoneke Maurice I.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
north american journal of fisheries management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.587
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1548-8675
pISSN - 0275-5947
DOI - 10.1577/1548-8675(1999)019<1124:imitbb>2.0.co;2
Subject(s) - tournament , micropterus , fishing , mortality rate , fishery , demography , fish <actinopterygii> , bass (fish) , mathematics , biology , statistics , combinatorics , sociology
We studied self‐reported measurements of initial mortality of black bass Micropterus spp. in 2,072 Texas fishing tournaments. Initial mortality varied by a factor of four among tournaments according to rules and format. The lowest initial mortality was reported for paper tournaments (1.1%), in which fish are captured, measured, and immediately released. Initial mortality was 4.0% in total‐weight tournaments, 4.3% in road‐runner tournaments, and 4.7% in big‐fish tournaments. A lower rate of initial mortality (1.8%) was reported for large tournaments, those with 50 or more participants, than for smaller tournaments (4.1%). This suggests that larger tournaments may be conducted with rules and procedures that reduce initial mortality. For total‐weight tournaments, we also compared self‐reported measurements of mortality with those derived from a regression model that predicts initial mortality based on water temperature. Self‐reported measurements of initial mortality averaged 4.2%, and predicted initial mortality averaged 4.1%. The general agreement between self‐reported and predicted estimates of initial mortality suggests that, on average, black bass fishing clubs and tournament sponsors reliably report tournament‐associated mortality.