Evaluating the Condition and Discard Mortality of Monkfish, Lophius americanus, Following Capture and Handling in the Sea Scallop Dredge Fishery

Abstract

The incidental capture of nontarget organisms, known as bycatch, remains an unavoidable occurrence for all fisheries (Kirby and Ward, 2014). One of the most challenging issues facing fisheries management is the post-release mortality of these bycaught species due to its difficulty to predict and the variability among species and gear type (Benoit et al., 2010, 2013; Depestele et al., 2014), which makes it inherently difficult to conduct proper stock assessments. Since there have been few studies conducted on post-release mortality across species, fisheries managers typically assign conservative estimates of mortality which limits total allowable catch and may negatively impact the economic contribution of fisheries (Knotek et al., 2018). Due to the continued increase in global fishing efforts and the economic and ecological impact of the post-release mortality of bycatch, there is a growing need for research in this arena. To this end, this research is required across a wide range of species due to the inherent species-specific differences in how animals physiologically and behaviorally cope with the stressors of capture

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