Guidelines for Catch-and-Release
The most important actions an angler can take to ensure a successful release are to hook and land the fish as quickly as possible, leave the fish in the water while removing the hook, and release the fish quickly.
These are additional tips to improve survival rates:
Decide beforehand which fish are to be kept and immediately release all others.
Do not engage in a prolonged debate over whether or not to release the fish after the fish has been landed. Once you make a decision to keep a fish, stick with it. The longer that the fish is out of the water the less chance there is of it surviving.
Avoid the use of gaffs and never remove large fish such as blue shark and tope from the water.
Large fish can injure themselves and the crew and should therefore be treated with respect. Take a photograph of the fish in the water and turn it loose.
If the hook is difficult to remove by hand, use long-nosed pliers or a hook-removal tool.
Do not tear additional tissue in removing the hook?back it through the original wound. If this fails, cut the leader and pull the hook through the injury. Cut the leader close to the hook when releasing large conger, sharks, and other fishes that are gut hooked that you do not plan to keep. Do not lift a gut-hooked fish out of the water by the leader; this can increase the damage.
Try fishing with barbless hooks or crimp and remove the barb.
Catch rates using barbed and barbless hooks are not significantly different. The advantages of using barbless hooks are that they are easier to remove and they cause less physical damage to the fish.
Wet your hands or gloves before handling the fish.
Do not injure the eyes or gills. Placing the fish on a wet towel will help keep the slime that protects it in place. To keep the fish still, place it on its back or cover its eyes with a wet towel. Control the fish at all times! If you drop the fish, the chances of it dying increase.
If your fish is in good shape, put it back into the water headfirst.
If it doesn't swim or is lethargic or erratic, some "resuscitation" may be needed until the fish can swim off on its own. Revive exhausted but otherwise healthy fish by first placing one hand under the tail and holding the bottom lip with the other. If the fish is in fair to good shape, merely hold it headfirst into the current. If it is severely lethargic, depress the bottom lip to cause the jaw to gape and gently move the fish forward. Moving the fish in an erratic back and forth motion will just induce more stress. At the first sign of the fish attempting to swim away?let it go. Prolonged attempts at resuscitation will be stressful to the fish.
If you are consistently landing exhausted fish that require extensive efforts at resuscitation, you should consider using heavier tackle and bringing them in quicker
source ;florida fish and wildlife research institute
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