Assessment of reflex impairment and mortality in discarded deep-sea giant isopods

Giant isopod, Wikipedia

Giant isopods were subjected to simulated capture and discarding by Talwar et al. (2016). Reflex impairment and mortality were induced by capture, exposure to air, and time at surface before discarding. Reflex actions tested are included in Table 1.

Talwar et al. (2016)

Six reflex actions were tested in control animals. Impairment of antennae extension and pleopod movement were not associated with mortality and were removed from the mortality analysis. Figure 1 shows the relationship between increasing reflex impairment and increasing mortality. 

Talwar et al. (2016)

Note that an impairment score of 0 was associated with 50% mortality. Clearly this score does not mean that animals were not impaired. Stressed animals were initially impaired without associated mortality, as indicated by the loss of antennae extension and pleopod movement.  Removal of these two reflex actions from scoring and the mortality analysis may have produced a tighter analysis, but fails to show the sublethal effects of the experimental stressors. 

A bigger picture: factors and traits that contribute to vitality and survival of discards in fisheries

ICES WKMEDS4 report (2015)

A conceptual model for discard survival in fisheries is developed in the ICES WKMEDS4 report (2015). In this concept, survival is linked to species sensitivity, injury, and predation, through fishing factors, environment, and size. The expanded view shows potential factors and traits in more detail.

ICES WKMEDS4 report (2015) Click on images.

Sport catch and release (C&R) fishing: assessing captured fish condition (vitality) with injury and reflex impairment

Fix.com (2015)

A review and synthesis of tools and tactics for best practices in sport C&R fishing is made by Brownscombe et al. (2017). A key factor for conservation of species fished with C&R is the assessment of fish condition (vitality) and associated survival after release. This assessment is conducted primarily with observation of injury and reflex impairment that results from fishing practices. Fishers can then make educated adjustments to their fishing practices (capture gear, playing time, handling, release, recovery, or harvest) to enhance future species recruitment in sport fisheries.

Reflex tests for C&R fishing, Brownscombe et al. (2017).

Brownscombe et al. (2017) concluded that “As catch-and-release grows in popularity, so must angler education and implementation of best angling practices to ensure the sustainability of this practice and conservation of fish and aquatic environments. Sustainable catch-and-release angling is a joint venture where it is the responsibility of management agencies and scientists to communicate and evaluate the best angling practices, while anglers need to be educated and use the correct tools and tactics to maximize the likelihood that released fish survive. In this regard, catch-and-release angling is perhaps among the most successful and rewarding conservation partnerships.”

C&R practices, Thousand Islands Life (2014).