Selective harvest policies have been implemented in North America to enhance the conservation of Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) stocks, which has led to an increase in the capture and release of fish by all fishing sectors. Despite the immediate survival benefits, catch-and-release results in capture stress, particularly at high water temperatures, and this can result in delayed post-release mortality minutes to days later. The objective of this study was to evaluate how different water temperatures influenced heart rate disturbance and recovery of wild sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) following fisheries interactions (i.e. exhaustive exercise). Heart rate loggers were implanted into Fraser River sockeye salmon prior to simulated catch-and-release events conducted at three water temperatures (16°C, 19°C and 21°C). The fisheries simulation involved chasing logger-implanted fish in tanks for 3 min, followed by a 1 min air exposure. Neither resting nor routine heart rate differed among temperature treatments. In response to the fisheries simulation, peak heart rate increased with temperature (16°C = 91.3 ± 1.3 beats min-1; 19°C = 104.9 ± 2.0 beats min-1 and 21°C = 117 ± 1.3 beats min-1). Factorial heart rate and scope for heart rate were highest at 21°C and lowest at 16°C, but did not differ between 19°C and 21°C. Temperature affected the initial rate of cardiac recovery but not the overall duration (~10 h) such that the rate of energy expenditure during recovery increased with temperature. These findings support the notion that in the face of climate change, efforts to reduce stress at warmer temperatures will be necessary if catch-and-release practices are to be an effective conservation strategy.
Keywords: Cardiac; Pacific salmon; climate change; exhaustive exercise; fisheries; temperature.