Reducing discard mortality in recreational fisheries remains an important component of stock rebuilding for many reef fish species. Discard mortality for these species can be high due in part to barotrauma injury sustained during capture coupled with high catch rates, but recent advances in fish descending devices can mitigate some of these declines. Despite high survival rates with rapid recompression strategies, recreational angler opinions and perceived effectiveness of the devices are relatively unknown. This study surveyed the perceptions, opinions, and attitudes of 538 recreational anglers regarding the use of descending devices in the reef fish fisheries of the Gulf of Mexico and U.S. South Atlantic, with particular emphasis on Red Snapper Lutjanus campechanus. In total, 1,074 descending devices were distributed to marine recreational anglers from North Carolina to Texas. After using the device for an average of 8 months and 15 fishing trips, recipients completed a questionnaire assessing their perceptions on the efficacy of the device. While 72% of respondents had little to no knowledge of descending devices prior to the study, 70% indicated that they preferred this release method over venting after the study. Survey respondents released over 7,000 Red Snapper and 4,000 other reef fish species with their descending devices, and 76% were likely to continue employing the device on their vessel. Eighty‐nine percent of respondents believed descending Red Snapper would significantly reduce discard mortality in the recreational fishery. We discovered that recreational anglers perceive the devices to be highly useful in reducing discard mortality and are willing to employ them when releasing reef fish experiencing barotrauma. Other studies have demonstrated that these descending devices do reduce discard mortality of reef fishes, and this study indicates that recreational anglers are very willing to use them as a conservation tool.

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关于在东南礁鱼渔业中使用降落装置的娱乐垂钓者的态度和看法

减少休闲渔业的丢弃物死亡率仍然是许多珊瑚礁鱼类种群重建的重要组成部分。这些物种的丢弃死亡率可能很高，部分原因是捕获过程中持续遭受气压伤，再加上较高的捕获率，但是鱼类下降装置的最新进展可以缓解其中一些下降。尽管采用快速再压缩策略具有较高的生存率，但是休闲垂钓者的观点和设备的感知效果仍然相对未知。这项研究调查了538个休闲垂钓者对在墨西哥湾和美国南大西洋的珊瑚礁渔业中使用下降装置的看法，看法和态度，尤其着重于Red Snapper Lutjanus campechanus。从北卡罗来纳州到德克萨斯州，总共向海洋休闲垂钓者分发了1,074个下降装置。在平均使用了8个月并进行15次捕鱼旅行之后，接收者填写了一份问卷，评估了他们对设备功效的看法。尽管有72％的受访者在研究之前对下降装置几乎一无所知，但有70％的受访者表示，研究后他们更喜欢这种释放方法而不是通气。接受调查的被调查者使用下降装置释放了7,000多种红鲷鱼和其他4,000种礁鱼，其中76％的人可能会继续在船上使用该装置。89％的受访者认为，红鲷鱼的降落将大大减少休闲渔业的丢弃物死亡率。我们发现休闲垂钓者认为该设备在降低丢弃物死亡率方面非常有用，并且在释放遭受气压伤的珊瑚鱼时愿意使用它们。其他研究表明，这些下降装置确实可以降低珊瑚鱼的丢弃死亡率，并且该研究表明，休闲垂钓者非常愿意将它们用作保护工具。