{"id":22046,"date":"2024-10-29T09:45:16","date_gmt":"2024-10-29T13:45:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/?p=22046"},"modified":"2024-10-29T09:45:18","modified_gmt":"2024-10-29T13:45:18","slug":"descending-devices-lessen-barotrauma-in-deep-water-fish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/descending-devices-lessen-barotrauma-in-deep-water-fish\/","title":{"rendered":"Descending Devices Lessen “Barotrauma” in Deep-Water Fish"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n
Sci NC has released\u00a0a video special about how anglers testing descending devices<\/a>\u00a0in North Carolina fisheries may not only be conserving fish, but also promoting long-term stability in the fishing industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When anglers bring deep-sea fishes to the surface, gasses can rapidly expand inside the fish, leading to extreme bloating. This \u201cbarotrauma\u201d occurs as the fish is brought to the surface and its swim bladder decompresses. When anglers release deep-water fish on the surface, the mortality rate is higher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To combat this problem, fisheries managers have developed descending devices that attach to fishing rods and slowly lower fish back to their habitat\u2019s original water pressure before releasing them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEven though fishers are required by law to have descending devices rigged and ready onboard, there is still a large swath of the angling population that are not familiar with these devices and the reasons for the regulations,\u201d says Scott Baker, fisheries specialist with North Carolina Sea Grant. \u201cWhen bottom fishing offshore, you don’t know if you will catch a fish that needs to be descended or one that can be kept.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Certain deep-sea species populations, such as snapper, have suffered because of overfishing, and longtime anglers have witnessed the closures of many fisheries. However, fisheries experts foresee lower mortality rates after catch-and-release as more people use descending devices. As fish populations stabilize, in turn the fishing industry will see economic benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Filmed in\u00a0Beaufort, N.C.,\u00a0the video<\/a>\u00a0features David Hugo, the\u00a0Reef Fish Extension and Communication Fellow<\/a> at the time for Sea Grant and the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council\u2019s Reef Fish Extension Project, as well as Meg Withers, the Council\u2019s Citizen Science project coordinator.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSci NC put together a great story, and David Hugo captured some amazing underwater video,\u201d says Baker. \u201cI think the underwater camera work goes a long way in giving anglers confidence that descending devices do work \u2014 and that anyone can do it successfully.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Learn more:\u00a0SAFMC\u2019s Best Fishing Practices<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n