![]() ![]() They also visit small tackle shops and other venues to provide information and get feedback. This regulation covers federal waters off the coasts of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and east Florida to Key West.Īll along the Southeast coast, Oliver and Withers use descending devices while fishing with local anglers and media, working with charter captains - like Piland of the Good Times - as ambassadors for safe release. The device must also be attached to a minimum of 16 ounces of weight and a minimum of 60 feet of line. When released, these fish cannot swim down to their original depth and often float at the surface, where they make an easy meal for sharks and other opportunistic predators.įortunately, anglers can use descending devices to return fish back to their original depths, where the increased water pressure will recompress them, significantly increasing their chances of survival after release.Īs of July 2020, any recreational angler, commercial angler, or charter boat must have a descending device on board and readily available when fishing for snapper-grouper species. Runde.Ī fish in this condition is easy to identify by its protruding stomach, bulging eyes, bloated belly, and sluggish swimming. The sudden change in pressure from pulling up one of these fish can cause the gasses in its body to expand, resulting in “barotrauma.”Ī small snowy grouper with barotrauma. Many reef fishes targeted by anglers - like red snapper - are found at depths greater than 50 feet. Watch a red grouper with barotrauma recompress as a SeaQualizer descender device returns the fish to its original depth. “What we’re really trying to do is reduce the number of potential dead fish through education,” Oliver says. The cumulative effects from catch and release can greatly impact overall populations. The process of capturing and handling fish can result in injuries or death which presents a major conservation issue for some fisheries. While releasing fish can help conserve their populations, there is more to it than simply tossing them back in the water. “With more people moving to the coast and fishing the coastal waters, more fish are being caught and released,” says Oliver, a communication fellow with the South Atlantic Sea Grants and SAFMC. Oliver and Withers both work for the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (SAFMC) and are traveling along the Carolina, Georgia, and Florida coasts to talk with anglers about best catch and release fishing practices. When the fish are brought aboard, Oliver and Withers quickly dehook, measure, and release them with the aid of a descending device, a newly required piece of fishing gear in the South Atlantic - and the catalyst for their trip. They furiously reel each fish up from the depths while fighting to keep their balance on the slick, rocking deck of the Good Times. Credit Sea Grant/SAFMCĪ few hours later and twenty miles offshore, Oliver and Withers are hooked up on a couple of large red snapper. ![]() This also eliminates all of the other physical effects of barotrauma that were seen at the surface.Oliver (left) prepares to release a red snapper with a descending device. The device will release the barotrauma stricken fish at a predetermined depth set on your SeaQualizer.Įach Saltwater model has three depth settings to choose from:īy bringing the fish back down to depth, naturally occurring pressure will re-compress the enlarged swim bladder causing the fish to become neutrally buoyant allowing it to swim on their own. Next, you’ll attach your fish and lower it back down into the water. To use the SeaQualizer pressure activated release tool first, attach the device to a fishing rod or retrieval line. Stomachs protruding out of the fish’s mouth.Physical effects of barotrauma can include: This causes the air bladder to expand beyond its normal size. Doing this prevents the fish from releasing air from its air bladder quick enough as pressure on it is decreased as it reaches the surface. Barotrauma is the result of bringing a fish up from depth to quickly while fishing. The SeaQualizer descending device is an innovative release tool designed to help fish recover from the effects of barotrauma. ![]()
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