mad craw 77 Posted February 27, 2009 Report Share Posted February 27, 2009 I searched the forums here and noticed there where questions concerns about mortality during tournaments. this should put some of those question/concerns at ease. here is the direct link to the article and this mortality study was done in illinois in our own state. last year I was inquiring about a mortality study done during the everbloom tournament trail regular season and the results are in. http://everbloom.us/home/node/6150 Illinois Natural History Survey Submitted by Mike Blake on Tue, 02/24/2009 - 1:40pm. From April through October 2008, the Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS) and the University of Illinois (U of I) conducted tournament research in coordination with the Ever-Bloom tournament trail at Evergreen and Lakes. The goals of this study were to 1) evaluate delayed mortality (fish that are weighed-in alive but die within 3 days of the tournament) after bass tournaments at Evergreen Lake and 2) evaluate the physiological status (stress) of tournament-caught bass at Lake Bloomington at a seasonal scale. Little attention has been paid to smaller, club-style tournaments (<50 boats) although they are more frequent and localized than larger, tour-style events. Results from this study will not only provide a clear picture of what is going on at tournaments at Evergreen and Bloomington lakes, but will also provide recommendations to tournament organizations throughout the state and country to improve tournament practices and minimize the impact of tournaments on fisheries. Research Methods Visited tournaments at Evergreen and Bloomington Lakes in 2008, one tournament per lake per season (seasons defined as early-spring, late-spring/early-summer, mid-summer, fall) Performed delayed mortality estimates at Evergreen Lake using holding pens Placed tournament-caught fish into holding pens following the conclusion of the tournaments Checked for delayed mortality for 3 days, then released remaining fish 3 days is a standard length of time used in other studies—if kept for more than 3 days, any mortality of bass is probably not due to the tournament Used 9 feet deep soft mesh cages to allow the fish to choose from a variety of depths/temperatures and minimizing the effects of the holding pens Collected control fish using electrofishing gear to account for cage-induced mortality Evaluated physiological condition (stress) at Lake Bloomington Took blood from tournament-caught bass following the conclusion of the tournament Some whole blood was stored in liquid nitrogen while the remainder was separated into plasma and red blood cells which was then frozen in liquid nitrogen Analyzed blood and plasma samples at our lab in Urbana for stress indicators Also collected blood from a "resting" control group of fish to determine seasonal baselines of blood parameters Results Evergreen Lake No delayed mortality during early-spring, late-spring or summer tournaments 1 delayed mortality during fall Water temperature was as high as 82ºF during the summer All tournaments combined, there was a total of 1% delayed mortality 5% delayed mortality is considered the standard for "very good" so Ever-Bloom tournaments were even better Overall, Ever-Bloom tournaments had very minimal impact with respect to mortality at Evergreen Lake Lake Bloomington Blood/plasma parameters indicated that summer was most stressful followed by late-spring, early-spring, then fall Fall fish exhibited very few changes in stress parameters, indicating fish caught in the fall were only slightly affected by tournaments Summer fish (both resting and tournament-caught) had low levels of hemoglobin which carries oxygen in the blood (similar to humans). This suggests that bass simply don't carry as much oxygen in their blood during the summer Late-spring fish showed changes in stress parameters even though water temperatures were relatively cool. This is possibly due to stress or recovery from spawning. Summary Although we saw increased stress parameters during tournaments, we did not observe any significant mortality even though water temperatures were upwards of 82ºF during summer. This is most likely due to the extremely efficient weigh-in procedure during all tournaments. From previous studies, the weigh-in has been identified as the most stressful part of a tournament for bass but the weigh-ins conducted by the Ever-Bloom circuit were quick and efficient. Some notable practices that reduced stress in bass: Boats were trailered before weigh-ins This meant that fish spent minimal time in weigh-in bags. Fish only had to spend a small amount of time in weigh-in bags as anglers got their catch from their nearby boats rather than docking boats, putting fish in bags, carrying them to the scale, and then waiting for others to weigh-in. Livewells are comfortable environments for bass as they are aerated, shaded, and temperatures do not fluctuate severely Weigh-in bags are uncomfortable for bass as they are un-aerated, exposed to the sun, and have less water than livewells so temperatures can change more quickly and more drastically Only a few weigh-in bags were allowed out at a time If many weigh-in bags are allowed out at a time, then fish spend a lot of time in them as anglers wait for others to weigh-in A lot of times, if there are anglers waiting, they usually rest their weigh-in bags on the hot asphalt/concrete which can be bad for bass Some organizations like to distribute a lot of weigh-in bags because they think that it will speed up the weigh-in process. At the Ever-Bloom tournaments, even though there were only a few bags let out at a time, weigh-ins were continuous and quick. 1-pound dead fish penalty This is about 4 times higher than the standard dead fish penalty This penalty definitely made sure anglers were conscientious of the health of their fish Anglers ensuring aerators worked and making sure aerators were run during tournaments to avoid such a large penalty definitely reduced the stress and mortality of the fish Conclusion/Suggestions/Recommendations This study showed that when run properly, tournaments can have a minimal impact on the fishery The Ever-Bloom circuit did several things right and provides a good example for other organizations to learn from I only have 3 suggestions for the circuit to further minimize stress of bass: Consider using aerated weigh-in bags, especially during summer Fish carry less oxygen during summer, warmer water holds less oxygen, and weigh-in bags can heat up quickly because there is not much water Consider conducting weigh-ins in a shaded area to further reduce the temperature changes fish can experience Keep doing what you're doing! These 2 suggestions are only suggestions—the circuit has shown that mortality is almost negligible using their procedures Things learned from this study for other organizations to consider Trailer boats before weigh-ins Only allow a few weigh-in bags out at a time to minimize the time fish spend in them Consider using large penalties for dead fish – this makes anglers double check their fish Fish carry less oxygen in summer so be extra careful to aerate during summer Consider using aerated weigh-in bags Consider performing weigh-ins in the shade Tournaments can have little to no mortality if run correctly and efficiently as shown by the Ever-Bloom Circuit General comments for everyone We saw increased stress levels in late-spring even though temperatures were low. Fish spend a lot of energy spawning and may not have fully recovered so take extra care of these fish. Run aerators continuously, even if you have 1 small keeper in the livewell or a 25 pound limit Be careful of temperature changes in livewells—you can cold shock fish by adding too much ice Thanks to all tournament participants and especially Terry Brown and Mike Blake for allowing us to conduct this study! We've learned a lot from this study and hopefully can apply these finding to tournaments throughout the country to minimize the impacts of tournaments everywhere. Any questions can be sent to Matt at mvanland@illinois.edu. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Trybul Posted February 27, 2009 Report Share Posted February 27, 2009 I never had any major questions or concerns about the way tournament fisherman handle and care for the fish and mortality rates. I would figure mortality rates would be better or average for tournament guys due to their experience and lack of live bait fishing. The concerns I have with tournaments are when they are conducted during the spawn. I never thought it was a good idea to pull a male bass off a bed and release at the other end of the lake after a weigh in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jude Posted February 28, 2009 Report Share Posted February 28, 2009 Thanks for the post, Alex. Looks like quality data from an unbiased researcher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mad craw 77 Posted March 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2009 welcome jude, it did actually come from a some what biased source. a tournament angler as well as a conservation director ran this study. biased because they did what they could to keep these fish alive! the reason why this study is such a big deal is because of a study done in wisconsin in similar fashion presented alarming results. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/07/24/...D8J2I95G4.shtml Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim J Posted March 3, 2009 Report Share Posted March 3, 2009 Very interesting. Thanks for these posts and link. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Kast Posted March 3, 2009 Report Share Posted March 3, 2009 As the story stated.... http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/07/24/...D8J2I95G4.shtml That results from the study that was done after the La Crosse tournament are still highly contested to this day. It was done in the heat of the summer, one of the hottest in a long time. The pens/tubs that the fish were held in were way overstocked and under aerated. Then they were taken to a river that feeds the Mississippi and was in near drought conditions, (ie., low water conditions with oxygen levels way down), and released the fish there! The WDNR really dropped the ball on this one. Having fished a lot of tournaments, these are never the conditions that a boated fish will encounter during a normal event day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mad craw 77 Posted March 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2009 As the story stated.... http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/07/24/...D8J2I95G4.shtml That results from the study that was done after the La Crosse tournament are still highly contested to this day. It was done in the heat of the summer, one of the hottest in a long time. The pens/tubs that the fish were held in were way overstocked and under aerated. Then they were taken to a river that feeds the Mississippi and was in near drought conditions, (ie., low water conditions with oxygen levels way down), and released the fish there! The WDNR really dropped the ball on this one. Having fished a lot of tournaments, these are never the conditions that a boated fish will encounter during a normal event day. I share the same concerns as you jim. dropped the ball is right but did you know that this wasn't the only study done in wisconsin? there where other studies done with similar results following other tournament trails not as renouned as flw throughout wisconsin. wdnr should follow this study as a standard for conducting in the future. who knows if this will change anything though, it's no big secret wdnr has been fighting tournament circuits for quite some time now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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