What's your thoughts?

[big Neil]

I watched the NZ fishing show Big Angry Fish this morning and was surprised by the comment made by host angler Nathan. He said "fish brought up from a depth of 14m or greater have a high chance of not surviving being released". I thought this was a bit "over the top" but he is obviously much more experienced than I am.

What do you guys think?

 

bn

[BigHorse]

I think he might be talking about barotrauma, which in my case i have never caught anything in which had barotrauma but i believe that if you use a release weight or a release capsule that the fish has a good chance of survival.

 A report from the QLD government said " barotrauma is a potentially fatal condition"

Hope this is what you were looking for👍

 

[noelm]

It is correct, fish from deeper water have less chance of survival, however, it has a much better chance than in an esky!

[puddlejumper]

I remember finding a NSW government website a few months ago while I was thinking about the same thing. It had the percentage survival from release rates for each fish species. I can't find it but its worth a look.

[zmk1962]

If I just focus on the greater than 14m depth part of BN’s question rather then where the fish was hooked (gut, gills)- I think it depends on the type of fish. Some fish like sharks, kings, and other pelagics hunt the entire water column. They will easily strike from greater than 14m depth and return - their bodies are built to cope with the rapid changes in pressure. 
Also fish that are bottom dwellers like rays and even Flathead- have very small or non existent air bladders. I’ve released or lost many at the surface after pulling them up from 60-100m and they swim away powerfully. 
On the other hand fish like snapper, mowies and bream come to the surface belly up - they have well defined large air ladders and have trouble decompressing quickly. 
So my conclusion is it depends on the species. 
cheers Zoran 
 

[frankS]

Neil. This is true, many bottom dwelling species suffer badly , eyes, and anus pop and when this happens the fish is better off with a quick kill and in the esky.

Fish like Snapper for instance where they put up a good fight sort of regulate their bladder as they come up while fighting the angler, but even Snapper that are skull drag up to the surface with heavy gear suffer this treatment.

Bass are prone to bladder expansion and many experienced Bass fisho's carry a needle to insert into the bladder to release excess air before release.

IF you have a decent fish on from deep and you plan on releasing it, pause your retrieve a few times on the way up to allow it to self adjust to the depths .

Frank

[JamoDamo]

I guess its time to pull out the release weights!

[big Neil]

Good answers here guys. On reflection, they were fishing for Snapper in fairly shallow water. I reckon he was talking about Snapper but generalised by saying "fish". I took that to mean (literally) all fish. Obviously that would not be correct judging by the answers which have been provided. Thanks for the clarification folks. bn