Muskies Canada Board-of-Director's Meeting

I had the honor of speaking at the Muskies Canada board-of-directors meeting yesterday. The presentation was actually one of the hardest I have ever had to create because little else is needed to complete the project at this point, aside from sitting my butt down in front of my computer and writing. However, it forced me to think (always a good thing) about issues that I will need to communicate when I defend my thesis. [A big thank you to my girlfriend for giving me direction on the contents of the presentation. THANKS, SARAH!]

Perhaps the biggest message to be gained from this project is that our research supports the notion that anglers CAN pursue catch-and-release fishing responsibly. It is our task as anglers to promote the well-being of released fish. Those that oppose catch-and-release fishing feel that the endeavor cannot be done responsibly and that too much detriment is done to the fish. This study shows that groups of anglers have the ability to create handling procedures that minimize physiological and behavioural disturbances and maximize post-release survival. Although these procedures work for muskies, other procedures may be better for different species and species-specific guidelines should be developed. I know there are many readers here from Europe, the States, and elsewhere across our planet that pursue other species. Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to develop handling procedures that maximize survival and minimize other sub-lethal impacts!


I am pleased to deliver this message to scientists around the world both in print and verbally when this case study will be put on the "world stage" at the World Recreational Fishing Conference held this coming summer in Berlin. Some of the brightest minds involved in recreational fishing science will be in attendance at this conference (e.g., Zeb Hogan of National Geographic). Many congratulations should be extended to the specialized muskie angling community for developing and modifying handling practices over the years with no agency involvement and little science-based influence. You all have been ahead of your times!

OK, I'm done reflecting on the weekend. I felt like this was worthy of sharing to others that weren't in attendance at the meeting.

Also, big congrats to my friend, field assistant, and co-author, Hedrik Wachelka, for the distinguished service award he was given this weekend as well as the new conservation award founded in his name (effective from here forth!).

Submitted!

I can now mark a big, fat CHECK on my to-do list. The catch-and-release paper has been submitted to Fisheries Research.

Now we wait and hear back from an editor and at least two referees. The fate of this paper now rests in the hands of these anonymous peer-reviewers (actually, first it's at the mercy of the editor then the reviewers).

OK, on to the next task!

Still Plugging Away

The research and writing continues. I am in the process of putting the finishing touches on the muskie C&R manuscript. We're talking adding the literature cited section and then beginning the submission process to Fisheries Research. We're choosing this venue and not something like North American Journal of Fisheries Management because of the quick response FA is known for compared to NAJFM. In this day and age, biologists can access manuscripts from a variety of venues electronically and all it takes is one mass email and a bunch of forwarded messages to get this paper in the hands of those capable of putting it to good use.

My telemetry data set from this past summer has been a beast to deal with. I am typing from a 6-year old computer with Windows XP and the 2003 version of Excel. This old version of Excel couldn't hold more than 65,000 data points which posed a problem when I have 260,000+. I have been trying to piece-meal things together and trying other programs, but it has been a slow go. Microsoft Access was a good candidate, but I know nothing about the program. Finally, I was able to obtain a copy (free of charge!) of Microsoft Office 2007 including Excel 2007. This newer version can hold over 1,000,000 rows, thus the answer to my problems. Soon the data will be organized in such a fashion I can actually run some stats on it and start the analysis.

I will keep you all apprised on anything dramatic that happens with my thesis. The fun, however, ended last year with the last muskie for the C&R project being caught. From here on out it will be about stuffing as much information on all things muskie, fisheries biology, physiology, fish behavior, etc. as my cranium can hold.

Nevertheless, I have been enjoying the hard water season. If you don't own a flasher and ice fish, you owe it to yourself to buy one. I'm a student and don't make much money, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to purchase a Vexilar FL-8. My stomach (and girlfriend's) tells me it was a wise decision.