Abstract
AbstractStudying the species‐specific responses to fishing capture is critical for effective management and conservation of bycatch species given that acute stress incurred from capture and handling may ultimately lead to mortality. While species of low commercial value are often overlooked, having accurate information on the effects of capture on all species is necessary for ecosystem‐based management. Sea Raven (SR) Hemitripterus americanus and Longhorn Sculpin (LHS) Myoxocephalus octodecemspinosus are routinely captured in the commercial American lobster Homarus americanus fishery in the Gulf of Maine, and they are discarded due to low commercial value. Despite a lack of economic value, these predatory species play important roles in shaping the benthic communities that they inhabit, highlighting the need to study their stress and mortality due to capture and handling. To help understand the effects of the lobster fishery on these species, the current study evaluated the physical, behavioral, and physiological stress responses of SR and LHS to capture in the state of Maine Zone G commercial lobster fishery. Collectively, our results suggest that although these species appeared to be resilient to capture based on an overt injury assessment, stress responses occurred based on reflex impairment and physiological perturbations, and these responses were species‐specific. Given the prevalence of behavioral and physiological stress in this study, further research into the survival outcomes of SR and LHS following release in the commercial lobster fishery is warranted.
Highlights
Given that acute stress due to fishing capture and handling may lead to mortality, understanding organismal responses to capture and handling is critical for the effective management and conservation of bycatch species (Davis 2002, 2005; Raby et al 2012; Baker et al 2013)
The current study characterized the extent of physical injury, reflex impairment, and physiological stress in Longhorn Sculpin (LHS) and Sea Raven (SR) that were captured in the state of Maine Zone G commercial lobster fishery
Our results suggest that while SR and LHS appear resilient to capture in the commercial lobster fishery based on overt injury assessment, behavioral and physiological analyses suggest that stress responses are occurring and are species specific
Summary
Given that acute stress due to fishing capture and handling may lead to mortality, understanding organismal responses to capture and handling is critical for the effective management and conservation of bycatch species (Davis 2002, 2005; Raby et al 2012; Baker et al 2013) To help meet this need, various indicators of physical, behavioral, and physiological stress have been developed and validated for use with fish (Barton 2002; Davis 2010; Sopinka et al 2016). We observed the species-specific nature of stress following capture in the commercial lobster fishery
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