Development of Methods for an in Situ Assessment of Black Bass Condition at Capture and Release Tournaments

Developing effective methods for scoring fish condition following escapement from commercial gear or recreational catch-and-release events remains an inexact science. While evaluation methods have been used to better evaluate the impacts of by-catch in marine fisheries, they could also be used to more fully understand the impacts of catch-and-release activity in both marine and freshwater environments.  While blood chemistry is the best or preferred way to evaluate fish condition, it is often impractical or too expensive, given the temporal and spatial restraints present in the field. In order to examine and quantify the condition of fish tagged at local black bass tournaments, we are currently developing an in situ assessment of fish condition. This index is based off 3 major parameters: barotrauma and its indices, wounding and its indices and reflex impairment. Each parameter contains an individual score based on presence/absence. Testing of this index and data collection will take place in the summer of 2011 at local bass fishing tournaments on Lake Champlain. We anticipate that this index may have a positive impact on management of bass tournaments