Jennifer Moran

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, Eustis Fisheries Research Laboratory, 601 W. Woodward Ave., Eustis, FL 32726

Quantifying and Identifying Factors Influencing Length Changes in Popular Freshwater Fishes Preserved in Ice

SEAFWA Journal Volume 9, March 2022

Fish length data are important for assessing sportfish populations and establishing and enforcing length-based harvest regulations. Evidence suggests that fish length can change after preservation in ice. These changes can impact comparison of live-caught and post-catch length measurements and therefore angler compliance to regulations, a concern raised by state law enforcement personnel. Similarly, length changes may skew length-based analyses done by fisheries managers. We evaluated TL changes of largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides), catfishes (...