Do Mackerel die if released?

[flattiefanatic]

Ive noticed that about Pout aswell, although where Ive caught them from (The quarry, Loch Fyne) theyre being brought up from anything up to 60metres so I think they would die regardless.

[MainBassMan]

If u catch them take ALL home and eat hand out to friends etc and save in freezer as bait for next season when they are gone - unless u are just a Mackeral basher!!!!!- cause otherwise U are killing them 4 no no reason!!!

[tack4]

fair comment MBM

[sam-cox]

they servive better when let go than when knocked on the head.,.

[MainBassMan]

sam-cox:

they servive better when let go than when knocked on the head.,.

WRONG they are DEFINITELY DEAD IF TOUCHED By HUMAN HANDS!!!!!

I am a Marine Biologist - THEY DO DIE LOVE!!! demon demon demon

[sam-cox]

im not a love, how come when I catch a mackeral on feathers, then put a 6/0 through the back of its head it stays well alive for up to 4 hours?

[sam-cox]

I do not think mackeral make a good catch and release species. To catch more than you require for the pot or for bait would be gready. If handled with lots of care, like useing a wet cloth when un-hooking, and as long as they are not deeply hooked they should servive.

They defernately stand a better chance than the mackeral in the fish box.

[Jaffa]

I don't know about that Sam, a wet cloth (and i know its good advice for most species) would still put pressure on the skin; what if those finger "marks" we see are a kind of bruising? The mackerel has a huge network of blood vessels just under the skin (needs them for that Formula 1 performance level it has)that perhaps are burst with the slightest pressure? Its a true pelagic species and very different to most the fish we catch in the UK.

 

So good to eat when fresh, i never put any back; usually spread them around friends and family.

[MainBassMan]

Jaffa:

I don't know about that Sam, a wet cloth (and i know its good advice for most species) would still put pressure on the skin; what if those finger "marks" we see are a kind of bruising? The mackerel has a huge network of blood vessels just under the skin (needs them for that Formula 1 performance level it has)that perhaps are burst with the slightest pressure? Its a true pelagic species and very different to most the fish we catch in the UK.

Good sense here - thanks for some sense for once!!!

[Newt]

Leon Roskilly:

Beware the greenies who are against angling and are countering the catch and release argument by saying that studies have shown that more than 85% of fish released die.

 

Those 'studies' that they quote so authoritively were on freshwater bass tournaments, where the fish were kept aboard boats, crowded together in tanks for most of a very hot day.

Not only that Leon but those are older figures. Things were that bad for a while and it led to a major effort to improve live wells and the fish handling from catch to release.

 

I think the numbers that die following a bass tourney these days is very, very small. Several lakes I fish regularly have club tourneys all through the Spring-Fall and the releases are done near the launch ramps. It is rare to see dead bass in the hours or days following a tourney and I launch from the same ramps.

 

It has been a combination of live well design improvement, aeriation improvement, some excellent anti-stress chemicals to add while holding the fish, and a few other similar improvements.

 

Nice how-to article from B.A.S.S. Here