TY - JOUR
T1 - Bycatch in a Commercial Lobster Fishery
T2 - Effects on Two Benthic Predators, Sea Raven and Longhorn Sculpin
AU - Anderson, Brooke N.
AU - Weissman, Amelia M.
AU - Sweezey, Brett
AU - Mandelman, John
AU - Rudders, David B.
AU - Sulikowski, James A.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors gratefully acknowledge the numerous undergraduate and graduate students from the University of New England who assisted in the fieldwork for this study. We would also like to thank Captain E. Hutchins of the F/V Christina Mae for providing invaluable support. Finally, we would like to thank three anonymous reviewers, whose thoughtful feedback significantly improved this manuscript. All capture, handling, and sampling protocols were approved by the University of New England Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee Protocol UNE-20160427SULJ. There is no conflict of interest declared in this article.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 The Authors. Marine and Coastal Fisheries published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American Fisheries Society.
PY - 2020/4/1
Y1 - 2020/4/1
N2 - Studying the species-specific responses to fishing capture is critical for effective management and conservation of bycatch species given that acute stress incurred from capture and handling may ultimately lead to mortality. While species of low commercial value are often overlooked, having accurate information on the effects of capture on all species is necessary for ecosystem-based management. Sea Raven (SR) Hemitripterus americanus and Longhorn Sculpin (LHS) Myoxocephalus octodecemspinosus are routinely captured in the commercial American lobster Homarus americanus fishery in the Gulf of Maine, and they are discarded due to low commercial value. Despite a lack of economic value, these predatory species play important roles in shaping the benthic communities that they inhabit, highlighting the need to study their stress and mortality due to capture and handling. To help understand the effects of the lobster fishery on these species, the current study evaluated the physical, behavioral, and physiological stress responses of SR and LHS to capture in the state of Maine Zone G commercial lobster fishery. Collectively, our results suggest that although these species appeared to be resilient to capture based on an overt injury assessment, stress responses occurred based on reflex impairment and physiological perturbations, and these responses were species-specific. Given the prevalence of behavioral and physiological stress in this study, further research into the survival outcomes of SR and LHS following release in the commercial lobster fishery is warranted.
AB - Studying the species-specific responses to fishing capture is critical for effective management and conservation of bycatch species given that acute stress incurred from capture and handling may ultimately lead to mortality. While species of low commercial value are often overlooked, having accurate information on the effects of capture on all species is necessary for ecosystem-based management. Sea Raven (SR) Hemitripterus americanus and Longhorn Sculpin (LHS) Myoxocephalus octodecemspinosus are routinely captured in the commercial American lobster Homarus americanus fishery in the Gulf of Maine, and they are discarded due to low commercial value. Despite a lack of economic value, these predatory species play important roles in shaping the benthic communities that they inhabit, highlighting the need to study their stress and mortality due to capture and handling. To help understand the effects of the lobster fishery on these species, the current study evaluated the physical, behavioral, and physiological stress responses of SR and LHS to capture in the state of Maine Zone G commercial lobster fishery. Collectively, our results suggest that although these species appeared to be resilient to capture based on an overt injury assessment, stress responses occurred based on reflex impairment and physiological perturbations, and these responses were species-specific. Given the prevalence of behavioral and physiological stress in this study, further research into the survival outcomes of SR and LHS following release in the commercial lobster fishery is warranted.
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U2 - 10.1002/mcf2.10114
DO - 10.1002/mcf2.10114
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85091039689
SN - 1942-5120
VL - 12
SP - 113
EP - 123
JO - Marine and Coastal Fisheries
JF - Marine and Coastal Fisheries
IS - 2
ER -