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The wide variety of perspectives and actions of individual anglers contribute greatly to success or failure when adopting and implementing fisheries management tools. Catch-and-release (C&R) is one such tool where success is influenced by both variation in human factors, but also species and fishery specific characteristics. In this study, an intercept survey of 94 sea trout anglers in a C&R dominated fishery on the Swedish island of Gotland investigated motivations to release or retain catches, self-assessment of anglers' own ability to release fish, and their rating of the importance of various factors influencing the successful outcomes of C&R. Retention of catches was most strongly motivated by situations where anglers deemed the fish unlikely to survive, however more than half of anglers acknowledged being unaware of delayed mortality in released fish. The spawning status of an individual fish was the primary motivation for release, particularly among anglers that prefer to keep at least some of their catches. The roles of water temperature, using single, and barbless hooks were scored as significantly less important than other components contributing to the success of a release. Anglers that gave a favourable rating to their ability to release sea trout also gave greater importance to various factors influencing the success of release, reported higher catch per unit effort, and released a greater proportion of their catches. These findings are discussed in the context of bridging knowledge and behavioural gaps around best practices for C&R in this fishery.

This study investigated the biophysical responses of sea run brown trout Salmo trutta to catch-and-release in the coastal fishery around Gotland, Sweden. It used information recorded on individual angled S. trutta (n = 162), including fight time, handling time, total air exposure time, injury, bleeding, fish length, body condition, spawning status, water temperature, hook location and difficulty of hook removal. Reflex action mortality predictors (equilibrium, operculum beats, tail grab response, body flex response and vestibular-ocular response), tests of blood glucose and lactate, and observation of hooking injury were used to measure the relative impact of the angling event on the fish's physical state and stress experienced. The results of this study suggest low rates of post-release mortality and generally limited stress responses to angling events, and relatively high post-release survival supported by the recapture of many tagged S. trutta. However, a number of scenarios were identified in which stress responses are likely to be compounded and where anglers should take additional action to reduce sublethal physiological disturbances and the risk of delayed mortality. Particular care should be taken to limit cumulative total air exposure to <10 s, and to reduce handling time and risk of additional injury in angling events with extended fight times, when water temperatures >10 degrees C, or where S. trutta show evidence of being physically compromised by injury or having recently spawned. The results also indicate the importance of using appropriately sized single hooks rather than larger treble hooks to reduce hooking injury and handling time during unhooking.

Sustainable management of recreational fisheries requires balancing angler attitudes and behaviour with fisheries' biological potential. Herein, we investigated the balance in the sea-run brown trout (Salmo trutta) fishery around the Swedish island of Gotland using data collected through a creel survey, test fishing, and spawning returns to selected streams. Anglers accurately anticipated catches of large fish but underestimated the role of natural reproduction in supporting the stock. Female sea trout entering spawning streams and post-spawn sea trout caught on the coast were significantly larger than spawning males and non-spawned fish, and were particularly important for the fishery. Larger sea trout also faced a higher level of harvest pressure than other sizes. Small changes to angler preferences, harvest rates, or regulations could significantly influence characteristics and sustainability of this fishery. The scale and direction of these changes merit further investigation.

Catch-and-release (C&R) is a popular management tool that can support sustainable development of recreational fisheries, if anglers adopt scientifically informed “best practices.” However, although the role of best practices is widely established in the academic literature, this knowledge is not always disseminated to anglers. In this paper, we investigated if and to what extent local management organizations provided best practice information to anglers. Based on a sample of 331 Swedish organizations, we reviewed the websites through which these organizations sold fishing licenses. Our review demonstrated widespread use of C&R as a management tool yet a general lack of best practice information. Among the small fraction of organizations that mentioned best practices, most mentioned only a single practice, with little consistency among practices that received attention. In addition, best practice information was particularly lacking for pike (Esox Lucius) and perch (Perca fluviatilis), which are by far the most landed and released species nationally. We discovered major knowledge deficiencies that provide insights about where and how to focus efforts for improving best practice information, in the context of local recreational fisheries management.