California Sea Grant College Program

Marine biology professors Chris Lowe and Kevin Kelley of California State University, Long Beach were funded to examine the physiological effects of catch-and-release practices on California sheephead. A major focus of the research was to gauge stress levels in fish by measuring hormonal changes—in particular levels of the stress hormone cortisol and insulin-like growth factor, which regulate growth, metabolism and tissue repair. They also tagged fish to study mortality rates of released fish and to monitor behavioral changes that might reduce an animal’s long-term chances of survival.