Welcome to our blog series, Research Highlights! On the second Monday of each month, we debut newly published fisheries research by our women of fisheries colleagues. If you have research you would like to highlight and share with our readers, submit a nomination form!
This Month’s Research Highlight:
Trahan, A.T., A.D. Chhor, M.J. Lawrence, J.W. Brownscombe, D.M. Glassman, C.H. Reid, A.E.I. Abrams, A.J. Danylchuk, and S.J. Cooke. 2021. Do carbonated beverages reduce bleeding from gill injuries in angled Northern Pike? North American Journal of Fisheries Management.
We are bombarded with information on a daily basis. In a matter of hours or days, a video or idea can be shared hundreds or thousands of times and transcend to internet stardom. It is said that the more times we see or hear something, the more likely we are to believe it. Even if it isn’t true. There is a term for this, the illusory truth effect.
And the fishing world is not exempt from this.
Alexandria Trahan and eight other collaborators recently set out to determine if something floating around in internet space held any validity. There has been growing popularity of anglers pouring carbonated beverages over the gills of fish to stop or reduce bleeding after being caught. There is even a Facebook page devoted to a community of anglers sharing their anecdotal accounts to save fish. The idea is believed to have originated with a viral video, but it now goes way beyond that. Other media outlets, fishing guides, and anglers have latched onto it and are spreading the message despite no evidence that this technique is beneficial to the fish.
The illusion that this could be beneficial persists.
Aexandria is a Master’s student with the Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Laboratory under the direction of Dr. Steven Cooke at Carleton University. She and her collaborators recently published a study that looked into the effects of using popular carbonated beverages on blood loss and the duration and intensity of bleeding following injury to the gills of angler-caught Northern Pike (Esox lucius). They found no evidence that using carbonated beverages – specifically Mountain Dew and Coca Cola – was beneficial to the fish regardless of the season or if the beverages were chilled.
So, does this study fizzle out the idea? Not exactly. More work needs to be done, because that’s science. For now, though, this does provide the first evidence that we may be dealing with a case of illusory truth effect rather than something based in fact. “The main takeaway is to simply keep the fish wet and return them to the water,” recommends Alexandria.
It is clear that scientists, working in partnership with anglers, can help address some of these popular claims. Working together, now I think we can all drink to that.
The full manuscript can be found and downloaded here:
https://doi.org/10.1002/nafm.10571