Tool for Releasing Stripers to Deep Water

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Several tools have been designed to return ocean bottom species such as snappers and groupers to combat barotrauma. 

The June issue of Sport Fishing magazine reviewed four types of devices:

Blacktip's Catch and Release Recompression Tool ($50 from West Marine) - utilizes a heavy weight to clamp shut its jaws on a fish's mouth.  Once the weight hits the bottom, the jaws open and release the fish.

RokLess by EcoLeeser ($39) - Once this tool is deployed to a suitable depth, jerk the rod tip to open the descender's jaws and release the fish.

Sea Qualizer ($55) -  This tool is set for a specific depth and the jaws automatically pop open to release the fish at the set atmospheric pressure.  The shallow water settings are 30, 50 and 70 feet.

Shelton Fish Descender ($10) - This tool is a simple S-shaped wire hook clip that ties directly in line to a bottom rig.  The hook pokes through the fish's lower lip, keeping the mouth slightly ajar to allow water across the gills. A heavy weight at the terminal end of the rig pulls the fish down.  Once the fish reaches the desired depth, quickly snap the line upward to release the fish.

The RokLess tool seems to be the best tool for Stripers due to the control.  Experience with this tool should determine if the fish is revived by allowing time to feel the fish struggle to get loose before releasing.  A camera attached to the line would be a bonus in determining a successful release and the time required to revive the fish.



www.ecoleeser.com/product.html

[mwardncsu]

Good review of some of these tools. I know some guys on Lake Lanier have been using the SeaQualizer tool.

Personally, I'm very mixed on these. They are definitely better than chucking a deep-caught fish with barotrauma back into the water and it floating and not able to get down to cooler water due to being bloated - and a lot better than puncturing them to "vent" the fish (this practice is going out of favor even on deep-caught saltwater fish). I guess I just wonder if the fish still has experienced too much stress and built up latic acid from the fight to the boat, and this just puts the fish deep and decompresses them to where they won't float - but they still end up dying.

The data is out for me..... I think what needs to happen is some controlled test - quick tagging of deep caught fish, and then release with these tools - and the monitoring over time for results of returned tags. The question then is raised if the act of tagging them in hot weather adds that much more stress that the tagging kills them..... tough call.

I guess I just don't want myself or others to get convinced that using these tools makes it OK to catch and release deep fish all day long during the summer and think they are OK - though it would be good if we could get some info to see if it has a positive effect - something I'll put on my list to speak with Dan Wilson about....

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I don't think the release tool will change peoples habits.  Some people don't care about the fishy so they will do as they please.  It is just best to not fish for stripers when the release conditions are not right in the summer time.  But if it happens and the fish is exhausted, maybe the plunge to colder water would help.  A learning curve is involved here and a camera would also help.

Knowing how hard it is to get certified to band birds, I would think that tagging fish would also entail schooling and record keeping to meet a standard setup by the Game Department.  It would be a worth while project in the fall or early spring.  You do the tagging while I reel them in.