Evaluation of the behaviour, physiology and survival of muskellunge that are captured and released by specialized anglers

Little is known about the muskellunge, Esox masquinongy, despite its popularity as a sport fish for many Canadian and U.S. anglers.  Over the last 50 years, organizations such as Muskies Inc. and Muskies Canada have created major paradigm shifts in muskellunge angling from catch-and-kill to catch-and-release (C&R).  Today, release rates approach 100% for specialized anglers.  One topic that has been neglected by the research community is evaluating the biological consequences of C&R on muskellunge, particularly in light of such high release rates.  We conducted a study aimed at revealing the physiological disturbances, behavioural consequences, and mortality rates of muskellunge subjected to C&R by specialized anglers.  In total, 30 muskellunge were affixed with small external radio transmitters to monitor behaviour and survival after release.  To assess physiological disturbance, non-lethal blood samples were taken from each tagged muskellunge plus an additional group of untagged muskellunge.  We compared two types of handling practices: normal procedures used by specialized anglers and an alternative gentler procedure.  Differences in physiology were minimal following angling and handling, as was post-release behaviour.  All 30 tagged muskellunge survived beyond one week post-release, indicating current handling procedures may be most appropriate for anglers to employ and fisheries managers to encourage.