Abstract
Baseline, post‐angling and maximum attainable blood lactate concentrations were measured for the fishery species redthroat emperor Lethrinus miniatus to gain insight into the condition of fish released following c . 30 s angling and s.d . baseline blood lactate was 1·5 ± 0·6 mmol l −1 , which increased and plateaued around 6 mmol l −1 at 15–30 min post‐angling. These values were significantly lower than those obtained from fish maximally exhausted with a prolonged chase and air exposure protocol following capture (10·9 ± 1·8 mmol l −1 ), suggesting that L. miniatus is not maximally exhausted during standard angling practices.