Keeping Black Bass Alive: Efficient Procedures and Effective Communication

Rapid growth of bass tournaments in the 1960s and 1970s caused concern among fisheries managers and tournament organizers about the impact of fish harvest on Black Bass Micropterus spp. populations.  Tournament organizers voluntarily implemented live-release events, and fisheries managers became interested in the effectiveness of live-release procedures.  As the catch-and-release ethic grew and many anglers and tournament organizers made conscientious efforts to achieve high survival of fish, it was apparent that procedures for handling black bass, well established among fisheries biologists and hatchery personnel, needed to be transmitted to anglers and tournament organizers.  Since 1985, multiple information products have been developed and distributed to anglers, and several research projects have evaluated effectiveness of the recommended black bass handling procedures.  Survey responses from state and province B.A.S.S. Nation conservation directors indicate implementation of these procedures by bass clubs is 75% or greater in 47% of states and provinces but 25% or less in 32% of jurisdictions.  Further changes in anglers’ and tournament organizers’ fish handling procedures conducive to greater survival of tournament-caught fish may benefit from more effective communication, additional scientific evidence that recommended procedures are effective, endorsement by professional anglers, and fisheries agency incentives to implement better fish handling procedures.