294 - Ice fishing catch and release outcomes with Julee Stewart and Dr. Chris Somers from the University of Regina

This week Julee Stewart (MSc. graduate) and Dr. Chris Somers (University of Regina) join Brendan to talk ice fishing outcomes for fish welfare from two of their recent studies on catch and release for Cisco and Northern Pike using different tackle on tip-ups in Saskatchewan.

They discuss their findings, what they mean for anglers and fish, and how we need to think not just about catching but also release, especially as catch and release angling continues to gain popularity. Dr. Somers also discusses how his lab uses social media and how it was used in their Northern Pike study, and how they get great buy-in from folks across the region.

You can check out Dr. Somer's lab page here: https://somersbiology.ca/index.html

Julee and Dr. Somer's Papers can be found here: Cisco Paper: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/aff2.181 Northern Pike Tip-ups: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165783624002911

Main point: Respect fish as individuals, and remember that as an angler your choices matter when it comes to fish welfare outcomes.

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