Recreational Postrelease Mortality of Lake Trout in Lakes Superior and Huron

AbstractThe effectiveness of fishing regulations that result in the release of some angler-caught fish depends on accurate knowledge of the postrelease mortality of those individuals. In the Laurentian Great Lakes, Lake Trout Salvelinus namaycush are a major component of recreational fisheries; across large regions of the lakes, they are managed with length limit and daily quota regulations assuming a 15% postrelease mortality rate. Due to concerns regarding the accuracy of that rate, we conducted a tagging study to estimate Lake Trout postrelease mortality in Lakes Superior and Huron, and we examined environmental and fishing factors that influenced the return rates of tagged fish. The basic study design was to compare tag return rates between two groups: (1) a treatment group comprising fish that were caught and released by anglers; and (2) a control group comprising fish that were caught via trap net and released. Tag return rates for the angler-caught group were evaluated in relation to depth of captu...