The premise of catch-and-release recreational angling is that postrelease survival is high. Therefore, it is common for anglers, management agencies, and conservation organizations to share information on handling practices and other strategies that are believed to improve the welfare and survival of fish that are released. A recent surge in popularity has sensationalized the use of carbonated beverages to treat bleeding fish—an intervention that is purported to stop bleeding but has yet to be validated scientifically. We captured Northern Pike Esox lucius via hook and line and experimentally injured their gills in a standardized manner. Gill injuries were treated with Mountain Dew, Coca-Cola, or carbonated lake water. The duration and intensity of bleeding as well as overall blood loss (using gill color as a proxy) were observed while the fish were held in a lake water bath. As a control, we used a group of experimentally injured fish that did not have liquid poured over their gills before the observation period. All treatments and the control were conducted at two different water temperatures (11–18°C and 24–27°C) to determine whether the effects of pouring carbonated beverages over injured gills are seasonally dependent. When compared to the control, we found that the duration and intensity of bleeding increased regardless of the type of carbonated beverage used in this study, and there was no effect of season. Use of chilled versus ambient-temperature beverages similarly had no influence on outcomes. As such, there is no scientific evidence to support the use of carbonated beverages for reducing or stopping blood loss in fish that receive gill injuries during recreational angling based on the context studied here. Our study reinforces the need to scientifically test angler anecdotes and theories regarding best practices for catch-and-release fishing.

中文翻译：

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碳酸饮料能减少北角梭鱼鳃损伤出血吗？

捕捉和释放休闲钓鱼的前提是释放后的生存率很高。因此，垂钓者、管理机构和保护组织通常会共享有关处理做法和其他策略的信息，这些信息被认为可以改善释放的鱼类的福利和生存。最近流行的流行使使用碳酸饮料治疗流血的鱼引起了轰动——这种干预措施据称可以止血，但尚未得到科学验证。我们捕获了Northern Pike Esox lucius通过钩和线，并以标准化的方式实验性地伤害了它们的鳃。用激浪、可口可乐或碳酸湖水治疗鳃损伤。当鱼被关在湖水浴中时，观察出血的持续时间和强度以及整体失血量（使用鳃颜色作为代理）。作为对照，我们使用了一组实验性受伤的鱼，这些鱼在观察期之前没有将液体倒在它们的鳃上。所有处理和对照均在两种不同的水温（11-18°C 和 24-27°C）下进行，以确定将碳酸饮料倒在受伤的鳃上的效果是否具有季节性。与对照组相比，我们发现无论本研究中使用的碳酸饮料类型如何，出血的持续时间和强度都会增加，并且没有季节的影响。使用冷藏饮料与常温饮料同样对结果没有影响。因此，根据此处研究的背景，没有科学证据支持使用碳酸饮料来减少或阻止在休闲垂钓期间受到鳃损伤的鱼的失血。我们的研究强调了科学测试垂钓者轶事和关于捕捞和释放捕鱼最佳实践的理论的必要性。