From the Department of Primary Industries

Tuesday 13 November 2007

RELEASED BREAM AND SNAPPER HAVE BRIGHT PROSPECTS

A Department of Primary Industries (DPI) study has confirmed the belief of many anglers that most black bream and snapper survive after being caught and released if they are handled properly.

A recent national survey of recreational fishing estimated more than 11 million bream and pinkie snapper were caught and released from hook and line fishing alone in Australian waters over a 12 month period.

Two years ago Simon Conron and other DPI fisheries scientists began studying how many released black bream and snapper survive, and ways to improve their chances of post-release survival.

To help develop ways of estimating survival rates, a group of expert volunteer research anglers were enlisted to catch and release bream and snapper under a variety of conditions.

“When releasing undersize fish many anglers assume that all or most of them survive.
“It is important to know if this assumption is correct, because it helps us determine how effective management tools, such as size and bag limits, are in protecting fish stocks from the effects of fishing,” Mr Conron said.

The study found that many factors could affect the survival of hooked and released bream and snapper, but the most significant one was whether the fish were shallow-hooked (mouth) or deep-hooked.

“We found the mortality rate among mouth-hooked bream and snapper was about 1 to 2 per cent compared to 22 to 23 per cent for both species when deep-hooked,” Mr Conron said.

“We have also undertaken rod fishing trials, comparing fishing with a tight line to using a slack line.

“A slack line gave the fish a greater chance of accepting the bait before the angler reacted and reeled in the fish and this meant there was a greater chance of the fish being deep-hooked and not surviving.

Further work is needed to determine the proportion of shallow-hooked to deep-hooked fish in Victorian recreational bream and snapper fisheries, but it is anticipated that overall survival of released undersize fish is at least 85 per cent.

As a result of the study, DPI fisheries scientists recommend that anglers:
• Fish with a tight line because this leads to more shallow-hooked fish;
• Fish with a larger hook because this reduces the chances of deep-hooking undersize fish;
• Cut the line if a fish is deep-hooked instead of removing the hook.

This study was jointly funded by Fisheries Victoria, the Recreational Fishing Licence Trust Fund and the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation, and was conducted as part of the National Strategy for the Survival of Released Line-caught Fish.

Further information on the National Strategy and on the survival of released fish in Australian waters can be viewed at www.info-fish.net/releasefish/