THE CONDITION OF FISH ESCAPING FROM FISHING GEARS - A REVIEW

The capture of immature fish in many commercial fisheries is controlled by restricting the use of fishing gears or elements of fishing gears that prevent the escape of immature fish. Improving the selective characteristics of fishing gear is based on the assumption that fish escaping are not seriously damaged and able to make a complete recovery. If fish escape and die as a direct result of stress and injuries or indirectly due to disease and predation associated with gear damage, then increasing the opportunity for escape by improving selectivity may result in an increased level of unaccounted fishing mortality. This paper identifies the main fishing gear types used for harvesting marine and freshwater fish, a range of injuries, stress reactions and mortalities that can occur during capture and escape. It is concluded that immediate and delayed mortalities can occur in fish escaping from fishing gears and that the high variation in mortality rates within experiments is associated with a lack of information on how fish condition is affected by various fishing stressors and the type and severity of physical damage received. Improving selectivity without reducing damage or stress incurred during capture and escape may not be the most appropriate way of protecting immature fish.