Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Influences Of Catch-And-Release Angling On Fish Avoidance Behavior, Alexis D. Fedele

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Newly opened recreational fisheries provide the opportunity to explore direct social impacts on controlled (i.e., managed), naïve (i.e., previously unexploited by anglers) population of fish. Herein, we examine the direct influence of angling on wild fish populations, and aim to identify the behavioral outcomes in fish resulting from angling through laboratory experiments. Using two naïve fish populations from newly opened reservoirs in Nebraska, we assessed the short-term (30 d) response of fish populations to recreational angling. At one reservoir, we noted declining catch rates in catch-and-release regulated fish but not in harvested-regulated fish. We hypothesized that catch-and-released fish were given …