Discard mortality studies are considered a primary research priority, particularly for species and fisheries where discard rates are high. Monkfish (the commercial name for Goosefish) Lophius americanus supports the most lucrative finfish fishery in New England, and it is also the second highest bycatch species by weight in the sea scallop dredge fishery. Despite its commercial importance, no data exist with respect to monkfish discard mortality estimates for any gear type. The goals of this study were to evaluate the discard mortality process for monkfish captured in sea scallop dredge gear, estimate mortality rate, and develop best handling/management practices to mitigate the impact of monkfish bycatch in the sea scallop dredge fishery. Discard mortality was estimated during a field study conducted between June and October 2017 on board sea scallop commercial fishing vessels on Georges Bank in the Northwest Atlantic. Pop-up satellite tags were affixed to 60 monkfish to track survival from 14 to 28 d postcapture. From these monitored individuals, high predation rates were observed (n = 18 out of 26 mortalities), and the bulk of mortalities (n = 21) occurred within the first 24 h of discarding. However, in light of having no clear method for disentangling capture-related and tag-induced predation, predation was noted exclusively as one or the other to account for uncertainty and provide an upper and lower bound of mortality. This approach suggested that the discard mortality rate was between 17.9% and 54.1% for monkfish discarded by scallop dredges and that elevated air temperatures (above thermal preferences) may contribute to increased mortality. Based on these results, it appears that monkfish discard mortality is lower than previous assumptions of 100%, and potential best-practice management suggestions moving forward may include minimizing fishing in areas of high monkfish abundance or scheduling rotating time/area closures during periods when air temperature exceeds monkfish thermal tolerance of 13°C.

中文翻译：

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确定海扇贝疏浚渔业中安康鱼的丢弃死亡率

丢弃死亡率研究被认为是首要研究重点，特别是对于丢弃率高的物种和渔业。安康鱼（鹅鱼的商业名称）Lophius americanus支持新英格兰最赚钱的有鳍鱼渔业，也是海扇贝疏浚渔业中按重量计算的第二大副渔获物种类。尽管具有商业重要性，但没有关于任何渔具类型的安康鱼丢弃死亡率估计值的数据。本研究的目标是评估在海扇贝疏浚渔具中捕获的安康鱼的丢弃死亡率过程，估计死亡率，并制定最佳处理/管理实践，以减轻安康鱼兼捕对海扇贝疏浚渔业的影响。2017 年 6 月至 10 月期间在西北大西洋乔治银行的海扇贝商业渔船上进行的实地研究估计了丢弃死亡率。弹出式卫星标签贴在 60 条安康鱼上，以跟踪捕获后 14 至 28 天的存活情况。n  = 26 人中的 18 人），大部分死亡人数（n = 21) 发生在丢弃的前 24 小时内。然而，鉴于没有明确的方法来解开捕获相关和标签诱导的捕食，捕食被专门作为一个或另一个来解释不确定性并提供死亡率的上限和下限。这种方法表明，扇贝挖泥机丢弃的安康鱼的丢弃死亡率在 17.9% 至 54.1% 之间，并且气温升高（高于热偏好）可能会导致死亡率增加。根据这些结果，安康鱼丢弃死亡率似乎低于先前假设的 100%，