276 
Fishery Bulletin 1 10(2) 
Table 3 
Number of sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria) tagged and recaptured (number and %) by each variable. Length 
variable in the analysis but is categorized here for summary purposes. The estimated absolute survival was 
levels of the severity of hook injury on the basis of an assumed 96.5% survival of fish with minor injuries. 
was a continuous 
estimated for the 
Variable 
Tagged 
Recaptured 
Estimated 
% Recaptured absolute survival % 
Year 
1989 
8768 
987 
11.26 
1990 
1659 
210 
12.66 
Length (cm) 
<60 
1280 
152 
11.88 
60-69 
5250 
585 
11.14 
70-79 
3048 
360 
11.81 
>80 
849 
100 
11.78 
Depth (m) 
210-269 
3354 
356 
10.61 
270-319 
4428 
462 
10.43 
320-419 
2645 
379 
14.33 
Hook location 
Cheek 
3290 
396 
12.04 
Upper jaw 
1759 
199 
11.31 
Lower jaw 
4912 
559 
11.38 
Nose 
123 
14 
11.38 
Throat 
212 
17 
8.02 
Eye 
120 
11 
9.17 
Gill 
11 
1 
9.09 
Severity of hook injury 
Minor 
2963 
357 
12.05 
96.50 
Moderate 
6204 
733 
11.81 
94.63 
Severe 
1260 
107 
8.49 
68.01 
Extreme 
Total 
432 
10,859 
1197 
11.02 
0.0 
88.29 
Amphipod predation 
No predation 
9271 
1100 
11.86 
<10% scale loss 
1054 
89 
8.44 
>10% scale loss 
102 
8 
7.84 
Gear injury 
No injury 
9845 
1133 
11.51 
Fin damage 
539 
57 
10.58 
Lacerations 
43 
7 
16.28 
(Table 3). The overall absolute survival of released 
sablefish was estimated, with Equation 2, to be 88.29%, 
or an overall mortality rate of 11.71% (Table 3). The 
absolute survival of fish with severe injuries (68.01%) 
was much lower. 
Discussion 
Our results indicate that the severity of hook injury is 
related to recapture rates for tagged sablefish. Most inju- 
ries were to the cheek and jaw and not to critical areas, 
such as the gills and brain. The severe injuries that 
we saw likely resulted in delayed mortality following 
the tagging event which would explain lower recapture 
rates. The severity of an injury is likely influenced by 
the technique for hook removal. Previous studies with 
Pacific halibut (Kaimmer, 1994; Kaimmer and Trumble, 
1998) found that the removal of the hook affects the 
severity of the hook injury and, as with sablefish, sur- 
vival decreased with an increase in the severity of hook 
injury. Severity of hook injury is a logical parameter for 
estimation of discard mortality because it significantly 
affects recapture rate. 
