Recovering from “The Bends”

Known to divers as “the bends,” a condition called barotrauma also affects deepwater fish, occurring when the fish is brought from deep water to the surface too quickly. Chris Lowe, a marine scientist at California State, Long Beach, discovered that the mortality rate of fish with barotrauma is drastically lowered when they are released with descending devices. Lowe and The Sportfishing Conservancy are working on angler education about these devices and their implementation to protect catch and release fish and bycatches. Via NPR.