Tournament-associated Mortality in Black Bass130 tournaments, 1972-1996MethodsMajor FindingsRecommendations1Tournament-associated Mortality in Black BassGene R. WildeFisheries, Vol. 23 No. 10, Oct. 1998Presented By:Holly A. Campbell2130 tournaments, 1972-1996 •Objectives:–Determine average rates of initial, delayed, and total mortality associated with tournaments–Determine whether any changes in magnitude of sources of mortality has occurred since the 1970’s–Combine results from from independent studies to assess overall effects of water temperature, tournament size, and fish size on mortality–Model relationship between water temperature and initial, delayed and total mortality3MethodsCalculated mean, initial and delayed mortality for threePeriods:–1970-1979–1980-1989–1990-1996Used ANOVA to determine if mortality varied among periods, and to find correlation between water temp., fish size, and tournament size4Major Findings•Initial mortality of tournament black bass has decreased from 19.5%-6.5% since 1970’s•Delayed mortality likely decreased between 1970-1980’s, based on large decrease in initial mortality•No evidence of decrease in delayed or total mortality between 1980-1990’s.•Decreases in tournament mortality also supported by angler self-reports.5Recommendations•Future studies should include descriptions of all aspects of tournaments (sponsors, length of fishing day, length of contest, etc.) in addition to mortality rates, water temp., etc.•Studies of water conditions (bad weather, rough waters) should be considered.•Results of individual tournaments should be reported independently rather than summaries of many