Answer: Giant (black) sea bass and other no-take species cannot be retained and must be released immediately. Therefore, holding the fish out of the water for a picture is unlawful. The best case scenario for the fish would be to cut the line while it is still in the water.
This might not be the best case scenerio for releasing a BSB. If the fish is caught at depth (greater than say 66' and especially 100' or more), the gasses contained in various cavities will expand to triple their volume at the surface. These fish often need assistance in equilibrating before they can be released. If you just cut the hook off, you might actually be decreasing its chances of survival. For those with mirage drive you can just hold it by the lip and drag it around in the water until it farts and burps up all the excess gas. For paddlers its a little more difficult. The idea is to keep water running over its gills while the fish is decompressing. The fish will swim away when it's ready, until then it will just lay there not too stoked on life.
Chris, good point. I've also seen the roll in the line, getting all tangled, and requiring "handling" to cut them lose. They would have simply had no chance at survival otherwise.
02-10-2011, 11:59 AM
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