Venting and Barotrauma

Here's the conclusion from a study on Barotrauma and venting fish (sticking the air bladder) in the newest issue of Fisheries Magazine from the American Fisheries Society:

The available evidence fails to demonstrate that venting fishes exhibiting symptoms of barotrauma promotes post-release survival.  In fact, it is possible that this practice decreases survival of fish captured from deeper waters, presumably because of the greater severity of the barotrauma symptoms.  Venting fish should not only be discouraged by fishery management agencies (e.g. Kerr 2001), but given the possibility that venting adversely affects survival of released fish, this practice should be prohibited, rather than mandated (i.e. NMFS 2008).

I haven't read the whole article yet, but the verdict is in:  The only way to help puffed out fish is to sink them back down fast.

Had a hunch -- admittedly completely inexperienced & unscientific -- that this might to prove to be the case. Thanks for posting that. 

Lets see if we can figure this out...

gas bladder = closed sac made of cartilage surrounded by blood vessels
cartilage heals very slowly
working gas bladder necessary for survival of fish
lets poke a hole in it!

this has never made sense to me...

its good that "scientists" are starting to understand what rupturing the gas bladder does to a fish...

I'll never forget my last trip on a rockfish party boat, looking back over our drift seeing a trail of puffed-out fish flopping on the surface trailing far off into the distance, to the delight of gulls... 

More waste that day than our entire group could probably ever do, and those guys are out there every day during season.

THose party boats should have to keep all fish they catch, unless they are fishing shallow, or using some sort of release system.

I'll never forget my last trip on a rockfish party boat, looking back over our drift seeing a trail of puffed-out fish flopping on the surface trailing far off into the distance, to the delight of gulls... 

More waste that day than our entire group could probably ever do, and those guys are out there every day during season.

THose party boats should have to keep all fish they catch, unless they are fishing shallow, or using some sort of release system.

yeah, the one and only time I took a party boat out of Monterey for salmon (about 5 years ago) we had that, all these great big reds flopping all over the place...I said something to the captain and was told "it happens all the time, theres a million of them things out here"

in my book party boats = waste + commercial fishing....

2c

"it happens all the time, theres a million of them things out here"

I'll bet that's what buffalo hunters said too.

Good thing is I think very few of us vent fish. I think most of us fish in waters shallow enough so that there's rarely barotrauma incidences.

Z

Heck, most times I fish in 30 FOW or less....

Had a hunch -- admittedly completely inexperienced & unscientific -- that this might to prove to be the case. Thanks for posting that. 

The DFG's official position has been anti-venting. (pdf)

Coastside had a good article using a milkcrate with weights on the corners to re-sink the fish.  Shelton makes a descender/release mechanism.  Both these techniques require a separate line or rope.  You can always keep one of your hooks barbless (or crimp it down when needed), re-sink the bug-eyed fish, and let it self-release once it regains it's proper pressure.

Lke most who ahve replied here, I selcom face this situation when yak fishing, cause we're usually shallow enough, or the fish are keepers (CBE< baby)

Allen

Check out this cool product http://www.recfishwest.org.au/ReleaseWeightDVD.htm. This is the way to go.

That hook release looks pretty simple to make. I am going to make one. Lets see, I have until June 15th if I dont go north. Thats a shame.

I generally fish from 60 to 100 FOW, so I'm getting quite a few puffy fish.  I still haven't had time to read the entire article, but the gist is if you're getting puffed up fish, they are generally already hosed.  There's tons of internal damage that occurs, and even when you get them down fast the probability is high that they'll still croak.

I think it's best to keep the puffers and switch to Ling only gear when you've caught what you need (if you're fishing deep).  Lings, kelp greenling, and cabs don't suffer from barotrauma because they don't use air bladders.

Yeah, I've also been downwind from the party boats and seen the carnage. It sucks.

I checked out the Shelton one on their website and it looked pretty cool.  Similar to the weight.  You probably need a dedicated 2nd rod for it, but the damage to the fish is minimal, through the soft tissue in the lower jaw, rather than puncturing what in SCUBA terms would be the fish's "BC."  No way could that be good; I would think the fish cannot suspend itself at depth once that bladder has a hole in it.  Maybe if you had a hypo needle...

That hook release looks pretty simple to make. I am going to make one. Lets see, I have until June 15th if I dont go north. Thats a shame.

Hey Craig, isn't May 15th around here?  Also, let go shoot something soon if the water calms down.

Dave