Releasing Mackerel

[LiamNE]

Its not too far off now - that time of the year again when we all have our moan about the macky bashers.
Just something I want to bring to attention as in my experience most seem to think it is rumour and therefore ignore it, myself included until last year.

Mackerel die if you touch them
If you want to get into the technicalities and biology behind it, this explanation is short, sweet and factual - Releasing Mackerel

Now, I know mackerel are not exactly in short supply, but I have thrown back so many over the years and to think they are just going to die within 48 hours is a bit disheartening. I usually catch about 30 on feathers which I use for various reasons during the year but there is always a fair few caught on lures when targeting other species that get thrown back.
So try and shake them off the hook...give them a flick with your shoe back into the water when on the pier, a wet towel with a gentle hand on the boat. If you have to handle them, you may as well keep them.

I know there are a few contradictions around on the internet to this statement and I appreciate it has probably already been discussed on NESA in years gone by. Its just something to think about and a practise we may as well all apply if anything as a "just in case"

 

[spongebob]

I read something similar in sea angler a few year's ago m8 if I remember correctly the chap writing about it said the mackerels mouth would swell up like someone allergic to shellfish lol. I catch what I need then hold the hook and shake. I also remove the barbs and th 3rd hook,I find it easier to shake them off with pliers

 

[LiamNE]

I read something similar in sea angler a few year's ago m8 if I remember correctly the chap writing about it said the mackerels mouth would swell up like someone allergic to shellfish lol. I catch what I need then hold the hook and shake. I also remove the barbs and th 3rd hook,I find it easier to shake them off with pliers

Chemicals on our hands are like acid to the macky's body is a simple way of describing it.
Boat anglers will know what I mean - keep your macky alive for a few hours and you will see your fingerprints on the fish. Sometimes you will see them from shore if you catch a fish recently released. Even when you go for a good macky session and your rod/reel is covered in scales, all part of the process.

Anyone know if this applies to any other fish? Pollock for example are fairly similar in feel...?

 

[kayos]

Here is the deal agreed last month

The five-year agreement allows the EU a 611,000 tonne mackerel quota, while Norway gets 279,000 tonnes and the Faroes 156,000 tonnes.

"This agreement ensures the long term sustainability of this valuable stock," EU Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Maria Damanaki said in a statement, adding that a "reserve" quota had been set aside for Iceland."

Iceland did not take part in the agreement and will continue to catch Mackerel unfettered. I think it is only a matter of time before the Mackerel are really scarce in British waters with these unbelievable figures of supposedly "sustainable" catches. In Scotland over the last few years, the Mackerel have shown up later and in smaller numbers year on year. While I do not think anglers throwing back live Mackerel makes the slightest difference to stock levels, best practice in releasing them is always a good idea.

 

[kevricho]

releasing mackerel

releasing mackerel

I think a lot of the undersize codling , whiting , flatties also die

 

[Davey1970]

have alway's practice'd this,

alway's use a damp towel, unless it's a keeper.

won't be long now.

a lad in another thread was at st abb's and there was bait fish all over the place.

 

[jonny_s]

Urban Myth ?????

If you dig around the internet enough there are accounts from fishery scientists who handled and tagged mackerel ( bare hands ) and then followed shoal for weeks and months on end. Most of the dead fish washed up stories are from fish damaged by overcrowded nets or suffering trauma from being caught. I may be wrong but I believe mackerel are not quite as fragile as the rumours suggest.

Isn't shaking the hook out also likely to damage the jaw \ mouth.

I do strongly agree though that minimal contact and quick return to water with any fish is the way to go.

 

[Lynnzer]

I think a lot of the undersize codling , whiting , flatties also die

A lot of tommy codling and whities seem to come in wide-mouthed and showing signs of shock. These fish almost certainly don't begin breathing again and just drift off as crab bait when put back.

Pity really but the angling community won't be making any real difference to future stocks. It's the trawlers that do the damage.

Dunno about the mackerel dying from our touch but as far as I'm concerened if you don't need to stock a freezer for personal food or future bait then give them a break and go after the garfish and coalies/pollack that hunt them instead.

 

[codcatcher3000]

nice reminder and good info for those who arent already aware.. unfortunately i have my own issues when it comes to mackerel... finding time and and finding the mackerel!

 

[Juliogeordio]

Urban Myth ?????

If you dig around the internet enough there are accounts from fishery scientists who handled and tagged mackerel ( bare hands ) and then followed shoal for weeks and months on end. Most of the dead fish washed up stories are from fish damaged by overcrowded nets or suffering trauma from being caught. I may be wrong but I believe mackerel are not quite as fragile as the rumours suggest.

Isn't shaking the hook out also likely to damage the jaw \ mouth.

I do strongly agree though that minimal contact and quick return to water with any fish is the way to go.

Nah mate, not an urban myth, plenty studies by the fisheries board to prove it...

 

[jonny_s]

Each to their own I guess. I remain very very sceptical until I see suitable and reputable evidence.

 

[Juliogeordio]

Each to their own I guess. I remain very very sceptical until I see suitable and reputable evidence.

Environmental and fisheries agencies studies do for me mate... If you look hard enough you can find evidence for anything or any point of view online but they seem to be very reputable point of view for me...

 

[Stewart 1971]

Urban Myth ?????

If you dig around the internet enough there are accounts from fishery scientists who handled and tagged mackerel ( bare hands ) and then followed shoal for weeks and months on end. Most of the dead fish washed up stories are from fish damaged by overcrowded nets or suffering trauma from being caught. I may be wrong but I believe mackerel are not quite as fragile as the rumours suggest.

Isn't shaking the hook out also likely to damage the jaw \ mouth.

I do strongly agree though that minimal contact and quick return to water with any fish is the way to go.

Evidence cited by CEFAS from four peer reviewed scientific journals makes it about as far from an "urban myth" as it's possible to get. Handling Mackerel damages their skin, as does the effect of crowding in a net. In both cases this causes the fish to die after a couple of days. The peer reviewed, published evidence shows this.

 

[LiamNE]

Evidence cited by CEFAS from four peer reviewed scientific journals makes it about as far from an "urban myth" as it's possible to get. Handling Mackerel damages their skin, as does the effect of crowding in a net. In both cases this causes the fish to die after a couple of days. The peer reviewed, published evidence shows this.

Yes certainly not an urban myth, but this was the point of me making this thread - a lot of people still think it is.
Even if your skeptical about it all, it is still a best practice to not handle them

If you REALLY want proof as I said before grab a live macky, stick it in a bucket for a few hours and watch your finger marks burn through the skin. Might take a while for it to die but the finger prints are there pretty quickly, must be an awful way to go even for a fish!

 

[Ian Alexander]

I just fish for what I need then stop fishing.....no need to put any back, just stop.
It amazes me to see people with bin bags full of the bloody things!!

Regards Ian

 

[jonny_s]

Not saying anyone is wrong, I am all for fish welfare but there are even statements like this from an ex defra marine scientist

" Mackerel deaths through "handling" vastly exaggerated scientific myth "

which make me wonder if this is a bit blown out of proportion.

I have read evidence of fish being carefully handled ( bare hands ) tagged and released back into the sea and surviving months. I have also read evidence of fish being handled and kept in a bucket or tank and dying, this is hardly a fair experiment. Most of my goldfish from the town moor hoppings died when I put them in a tank once they were removed from their plastic bag natural environment they always went belly up.

Its an interesting subject, I think I will check if the rest of the mackerel family are cursed with fragile skin.

 

[wavy davy]

Just checked my diary as I keep a record of all my fishing trips, tide, bait, time, rigs etc and I caught my first one from Shields pier on the 29th May last year.

 

[Jeffrob445]

I'm currently waiting for the library to get me copies of the cited papers, however, having managed to find synopses of them on the web, most of the papers seem to refer to overcrowded fish in nets, which are a completely different set of circumstances to an individual fish on a hook...
I'm a biologist by the way.

 

[lumpsucker]

Just checked my diary as I keep a record of all my fishing trips, tide, bait, time, rigs etc and I caught my first one from Shields pier on the 29th May last year.

There was a couple of kids bashing away there on monday night without any joy! They said they'd heard they were in!

 

[loopy]

Jeffrob445 this is part of a reply from CEFAS on the same question asked by anglers a couple of years agoI and have a number of publications showing the results of all this work.

These are:

Lockwood, S. J., Pawson, M.G. and Mumford, B.C., 1977. "Effects of holding mackerel at different densities in nets of various sizes." M.A.F.F., Fish. Res. Tech. rep. No. 33, 10 pp


Pawson, M. G. and Lockwood, S. J., 1980. "Mortality of mackerel following physical stress, and its probable cause." I.C.E.S. rapp. proc. verb., 177: 439-443.


Holeton, G. F., M.G. Pawson & Shelton, G., 1982. "Gill ventilation, gas exchange and survival in the Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus L.)." Can. J. Zool, 60: 1141-1147.


Lockwood, S. J., M. G. Pawson and D. Eaton., 1983. "The effects of crowding on mackerel (Scomber scombrus L) - physical condition and mortality". Fisheries Research, 2: 129-147.


So, when anglers have caught enough mackerel for a fry or for bait, they should stop fishing for them unless they are using barbless hooks and can return the fish to the water without touching them.