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Recompression Improves Release Success in Pollack (Pollachius pollachius): A Step Towards Assessing Post Release Mortality in a Recreational Fishery

T. Stamp Orcid Logo, Rachel Mawer Orcid Logo, R. Conlon, A. E. Hall Orcid Logo, P. Davies, R. Nesbit, D. Uren, T. Morris, S. Sullivan, S. Thomas, B. D. Stewart, H. Rudd, K. Hyder, T. Osmond, S. Reynell, E. V. Sheehan Orcid Logo

Fisheries Management and Ecology

Swansea University Author: Rachel Mawer Orcid Logo

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DOI (Published version): 10.1111/fme.70047

Abstract

The recreational fishery for pollack (Pollachius pollachius) in the northeast Atlantic is impacted by the species' high sensitivity to barotrauma. When captured at depth and brought to the surface, gas expansion within the peritoneal cavity can cause a variety of injuries and hinder release. Vi...

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Published in: Fisheries Management and Ecology
ISSN: 0969-997X 1365-2400
Published: Wiley 2026
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URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa71538
first_indexed 2026-03-04T16:01:35Z
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spelling 2026-04-09T15:13:05.2863878 v2 71538 2026-03-04 Recompression Improves Release Success in Pollack (Pollachius pollachius): A Step Towards Assessing Post Release Mortality in a Recreational Fishery b326ca8a689948f5f72cea5d46cf2194 0009-0003-0114-9691 Rachel Mawer Rachel Mawer true false 2026-03-04 BGPS The recreational fishery for pollack (Pollachius pollachius) in the northeast Atlantic is impacted by the species' high sensitivity to barotrauma. When captured at depth and brought to the surface, gas expansion within the peritoneal cavity can cause a variety of injuries and hinder release. Via an experimental weighted cage, this study evaluated the efficacy of releasing Pollack at depth as a barotrauma mitigation strategy. We found that depth-release significantly increased the probability of released Pollack displaying an active escape response to 83%, compared to 56% for surface-released fish; however, increased capture depth and fish size negatively affected success. Camera observations of depth-released Pollack confirmed the recovery of vital reflexes (vestibulo-ocular reflex, equilibrium maintenance) within 1.5–4 min. Further acoustic telemetry demonstrated that individuals subsequently displayed active dispersion from the release site (0.1–23.8 km) and showed active vertical movements for up to 6 months post-release. These findings indicate that depth-release improves survival outcomes, though further research is required to optimise release methods in open-water environments. Journal Article Fisheries Management and Ecology 0 Wiley 0969-997X 1365-2400 acoustic telemetry; barotrauma; fisheries management 9 1 2026 2026-01-09 10.1111/fme.70047 COLLEGE NANME Biosciences Geography and Physics School COLLEGE CODE BGPS Swansea University Another institution paid the OA fee Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, UK Government. Grant Number: Ecm 66427; INTERREG FRANCE-CHANNEL_ENGLAND (Award no. 256) 2026-04-09T15:13:05.2863878 2026-03-04T14:27:07.4927898 Faculty of Science and Engineering School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences T. Stamp 0000-0001-7368-5475 1 Rachel Mawer 0009-0003-0114-9691 2 R. Conlon 3 A. E. Hall 0000-0002-1048-3101 4 P. Davies 5 R. Nesbit 6 D. Uren 7 T. Morris 8 S. Sullivan 9 S. Thomas 10 B. D. Stewart 11 H. Rudd 12 K. Hyder 13 T. Osmond 14 S. Reynell 15 E. V. Sheehan 0000-0002-1066-8237 16 71538__36482__4095500137ec452bb97a4127d7e9b8cd.pdf 71538.VoR.pdf 2026-04-09T15:11:09.0456985 Output 3103271 application/pdf Version of Record true © 2026 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. true eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
title Recompression Improves Release Success in Pollack (Pollachius pollachius): A Step Towards Assessing Post Release Mortality in a Recreational Fishery
spellingShingle Recompression Improves Release Success in Pollack (Pollachius pollachius): A Step Towards Assessing Post Release Mortality in a Recreational Fishery
Rachel Mawer
title_short Recompression Improves Release Success in Pollack (Pollachius pollachius): A Step Towards Assessing Post Release Mortality in a Recreational Fishery
title_full Recompression Improves Release Success in Pollack (Pollachius pollachius): A Step Towards Assessing Post Release Mortality in a Recreational Fishery
title_fullStr Recompression Improves Release Success in Pollack (Pollachius pollachius): A Step Towards Assessing Post Release Mortality in a Recreational Fishery
title_full_unstemmed Recompression Improves Release Success in Pollack (Pollachius pollachius): A Step Towards Assessing Post Release Mortality in a Recreational Fishery
title_sort Recompression Improves Release Success in Pollack (Pollachius pollachius): A Step Towards Assessing Post Release Mortality in a Recreational Fishery
author_id_str_mv b326ca8a689948f5f72cea5d46cf2194
author_id_fullname_str_mv b326ca8a689948f5f72cea5d46cf2194_***_Rachel Mawer
author Rachel Mawer
author2 T. Stamp
Rachel Mawer
R. Conlon
A. E. Hall
P. Davies
R. Nesbit
D. Uren
T. Morris
S. Sullivan
S. Thomas
B. D. Stewart
H. Rudd
K. Hyder
T. Osmond
S. Reynell
E. V. Sheehan
format Journal article
container_title Fisheries Management and Ecology
container_volume 0
publishDate 2026
institution Swansea University
issn 0969-997X
1365-2400
doi_str_mv 10.1111/fme.70047
publisher Wiley
college_str Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchytype
hierarchy_top_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
department_str School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Science and Engineering{{{_:::_}}}School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences
document_store_str 1
active_str 0
description The recreational fishery for pollack (Pollachius pollachius) in the northeast Atlantic is impacted by the species' high sensitivity to barotrauma. When captured at depth and brought to the surface, gas expansion within the peritoneal cavity can cause a variety of injuries and hinder release. Via an experimental weighted cage, this study evaluated the efficacy of releasing Pollack at depth as a barotrauma mitigation strategy. We found that depth-release significantly increased the probability of released Pollack displaying an active escape response to 83%, compared to 56% for surface-released fish; however, increased capture depth and fish size negatively affected success. Camera observations of depth-released Pollack confirmed the recovery of vital reflexes (vestibulo-ocular reflex, equilibrium maintenance) within 1.5–4 min. Further acoustic telemetry demonstrated that individuals subsequently displayed active dispersion from the release site (0.1–23.8 km) and showed active vertical movements for up to 6 months post-release. These findings indicate that depth-release improves survival outcomes, though further research is required to optimise release methods in open-water environments.
published_date 2026-01-09T05:51:48Z
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score 11.101457

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