It’s a time to savor when common sense prevails, since sometimes that seems to be more exception than rule. Common sense has finally prevailed in fishery management at both the federal (Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council) and now the state (Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission) level when it comes to releasing fish brought up from deep water. For many years, recreational fishing boats in federal or Florida state waters were required to carry and use a venting tool to release barotraumatized fish. (Barotrauma occurs when gases in a deepwater fish expand rapidly at the lower surface pressure to “blow it up” and push its stomach out its both, disabling it.) That law continued long after research proved this method of dubious merit, at best, since poking a hollow needle into a fish’s gut cavity in just the right place isn’t easy ...Image may be NSFW.
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