Effects of angling and manual handling on pike behaviour investigated by high‐resolution positional telemetry

Human disturbances such as angling and manual handling may have long‐term effects on the behaviour of pike, Esox lucius L., an ecologically important species. Using continuous high‐resolution positional telemetry, this study compared the swimming activity of handled and unhandled pike in a small lake. Pike pre‐equipped with acoustic transmitters were angled and exposed to a handling protocol including measurements of length and mass. Pike not recaptured constituted an unhandled control group. Results demonstrated that the handling protocol caused temperature‐dependent changes in pike activity, with higher temperatures leading to lower activity of the recaptured pike. The effects, however, were transitory and not detectable after 48‐h post‐release. These findings indicate that pike are relatively resilient to handling and quickly resume pre‐handling activity.