Catch and Release, Done Right
Releasing a fish is not the same as saving it. NOAA publishes specific, checkable guidance — air exposure under 60 seconds, wet hands only, never suspend a fish by its mouth — and since January 2022 federal law has required Gulf reef anglers to carry a descending device or venting tool. Here is what actually keeps a released fish alive.
Published
Releasing a fish is not the same as saving it. A fish that swims off can still die hours later from how it was handled, and the difference is almost entirely decisions the angler makes in the two minutes before letting go.
NOAA Fisheries publishes specific guidance, and it is worth reading as instructions rather than sentiment.
NOAA's best practices, verbatim
| What | NOAA's wording |
|---|---|
| Air exposure | "Keep air exposure to a minimum if you must remove a fish from the water. Less than 60 seconds is ideal." |
| Handling | "Handle the fish as little as possible and only with wet hands." |
| Dehooking | "Dehook the fish in the water whenever possible." |
| Swallowed hook | "Cut the line as close to the hook as possible if a swallowed hook can't be easily removed." |
| Supporting it | "Support the weight of any fish removed from the water along the length of its body. Never suspend a fish by its lip or mouth." |
| What not to touch | "Avoid touching the fish's eyes and gills." |
| Gaffs | "Never gaff a fish you plan to release." |
| The fight | "Never fight a fish to exhaustion." |
| Reviving | "Resuscitate a sluggish fish by facing it into the current or pulling it head-first through the water until it regains strength and can swim away on its own." |
The three that people get wrong
Sixty seconds is the whole sequence. Not sixty seconds for the photo and then some more for the unhooking. If the camera is not ready and the pliers are not in your hand before the fish comes up, you have already used the budget.
Never vertical. A big fish hanging by its jaw is carrying its entire body weight on structures that never evolved to bear it out of water. Two hands, horizontal, brief.
Cut the line on a swallowed hook. The instinct is to retrieve the hook. NOAA says otherwise, and it is why the agency also recommends non-stainless steel hooks — those "will corrode and fall out over time if a fish or other wildlife is accidentally hooked and escapes before they can be dehooked."
Before the fish is even hooked
The two decisions with the biggest effect happen before you cast.
Hook choice. NOAA lists "circle hooks, barbless hooks, or hooks with crimped barbs" among its best practices because "these can increase survival rates and make hook removal easier." A circle hook takes the corner of the jaw rather than the throat, which is the difference between a ten-second release and a fatal one. Our hook types page covers how to fish one — the short version is that you do not strike.
Tackle that ends the fight. "Never fight a fish to exhaustion" is a gear instruction as much as a technique one. Tackle that is too light means long fights, and a fish played to exhaustion in warm water often dies after release even when it swims off strongly.
Barotrauma, and the law that followed it
If you fish deep, this is the section that matters.
NOAA defines barotrauma as "an injury caused by the expansion of gas inside a fish from the rapid pressure decrease" when it is brought up from depth — typically "when retrieving fish from depths of 90 feet or greater."
A fish with barotrauma often physically cannot swim back down. It floats, and it dies on the surface or is taken by a predator. Releasing it is not enough.
Since 13 January 2022 this has been federal law in the Gulf. The DESCEND Act requires persons on commercial, for-hire and private recreational vessels fishing for reef fish in Gulf of Mexico federal waters to have "a venting tool or descending device rigged and ready to use."
| Tool | NOAA's definition | Minimum spec |
|---|---|---|
| Descending device | "An instrument capable of releasing a fish at the depth from which the fish was caught" — a weighted hook, lip clamp, or box | 16-ounce weight and at least 60 feet of line |
| Venting tool | "A sharpened, hollow instrument that allows air to escape, such as a hypodermic syringe with the plunger removed" | 16-gauge needle (0.065 in outside diameter) |
Note the wording: rigged and ready to use. A descending device still in its packaging in a locker does not meet the requirement, and it does not help the fish either.
The bit nobody photographs
Reviving. Hold the fish upright in the water, facing into the current, or pull it head-first through the water so water flows over its gills. Wait until it pulls away under its own power.
Dropping a tired fish back and watching it swim off is not the same thing. A fish that goes down and then floats back up ten minutes later is a mortality that got counted as a release.
When releasing is not optional
A great deal of modern release fishing is not a choice. Slot limits mean everything above and below a size range goes back; closed seasons mean everything goes back; some waters are release-only entirely.
Three examples already on this site:
- Florida redfish — an 18–27 inch slot, one fish, and the Indian River Lagoon release-only
- Texas redfish — a 20–28 inch slot, and every bull red above it is a tag fish or a release
- Striped bass — a 28–31 inch coastal slot, on a stock ASMFC lists as overfished
Which means release skill is not an ethical extra. On most fisheries it is the main skill, applied to most of the fish you touch.
A short checklist
Before the trip:
- Circle hooks or crimped barbs
- Rubberised, knotless net
- Pliers or a dehooker within reach
- Descending device if you are fishing deep — and rigged, not boxed
At the fish:
- Do not overplay it
- Wet hands, or better, leave it in the water
- Unhook in the water if you can
- If it must come out: under 60 seconds, horizontal, supported
- Cut the line on anything swallowed
- Revive it until it swims off on its own
Related
- Fishing hook types — circle hooks, barbless hooks and hook sizing
- How to fillet a fish — for the ones you keep, and why the first ten minutes matter
- How to catch redfish in Texas — a fishery where most fish go back
Sources
- Catch and Release Fishing Best Practices — NOAA Fisheries — all quoted best practices, including the under-60-seconds air exposure guidance, wet hands, in-water dehooking, cutting the line on a swallowed hook, supporting body weight and never suspending by the mouth, avoiding eyes and gills, never gaffing a fish to be released, never fighting to exhaustion, resuscitation, and the recommendation of circle, barbless, crimped-barb and non-stainless steel hooks.
- NOAA Fisheries Reminds Reef Fish Fishermen of DESCEND Act Requirements — the DESCEND Act requirement effective 13 January 2022 for commercial, for-hire and private recreational vessels fishing reef fish in Gulf of Mexico federal waters; the definitions and minimum specifications of descending devices and venting tools; and the definition of barotrauma and the 90-foot depth guidance.
Frequently asked questions
- How long can a fish be out of the water?
- As briefly as possible. NOAA Fisheries states that if you must remove a fish from the water, less than 60 seconds is ideal. That is the whole photograph, unhooking and handling sequence, not 60 seconds of each. In practice it means having the camera ready and the pliers in hand before the fish comes up.
- What is the right way to hold a fish you are releasing?
- Support its weight along the length of its body, with wet hands, and keep it horizontal. NOAA's guidance is explicit that you should never suspend a fish by its lip or mouth — a large fish held vertically is carrying its whole body weight on its jaw and internal organs. Avoid touching the eyes and gills.
- Should you cut the line if a fish swallows the hook?
- Yes. NOAA advises cutting the line as close to the hook as possible if a swallowed hook cannot easily be removed. Digging a deep hook out does far more damage than leaving it. This is also why NOAA recommends non-stainless steel hooks, which corrode and fall out over time.
- What is barotrauma in fish?
- NOAA defines it as an injury caused by the expansion of gas inside a fish from the rapid pressure decrease when it is brought up from depth. It typically occurs when retrieving fish from depths of 90 feet or greater. A fish with barotrauma often cannot swim back down, which is why descending devices exist.
- Is a descending device required by law?
- In Gulf of Mexico federal waters, yes. Since 13 January 2022 the DESCEND Act has required persons on commercial, for-hire and private recreational vessels to have a venting tool or descending device rigged and ready to use when fishing for reef fish. A descending device must have at least a 16-ounce weight and a minimum of 60 feet of line.
- Does catch and release actually work?
- It works when it is done well and much less when it is not. Released fish die from deep hooking, barotrauma, handling damage, exhaustion and predation after release. Every one of those is affected by choices the angler makes — hook type, how long the fight lasts, how long the fish is in the air, and whether it is revived before letting go.
- Should you use a net for catch and release?
- A rubberised or knotless net is much kinder than a knotted mesh one, which strips slime and scales and can damage fins and eyes. Better still is not lifting the fish at all — dehook it in the water when you can. NOAA's guidance is explicit that you should never gaff a fish you intend to release.