ORIGINAL ARTICLE Hematological and biochemical indices of kutum Rutilus frisii kutum, associated with capture methods Mohammad Hossein Gharache & Seyed Yousef Paighambary & Amin Golpour Received: 19 July 2012 / Accepted: 12 March 2013 # Springer-Verlag London 2013 Abstract The aim of current research was to determine hematological and biochemical parameters of captured kutum with gill net and beach seine. A total of 16 matured kutums were used for blood sampling from each device. The result showed significant differences in white blood cells, red blood cell, mean corpuscle volume, Ca 2+ , Cl - , and cholesterol between gill net and beach seine methods, but there were no significant differences in other parameters. Based on obtained results during our experiment, we con- cluded that the stress due to capture can influence the blood parameters, and different capture methods lead to different reactions in blood parameters. Keywords Beach seine . Gill net . Hematology . Serum biochemistry . Rutilus frisii kutum Introduction Kutum is a migratory anadromous fish which spawns on aquatic weeds, graveled and sandy substrates in rivers and lagoons between March to April (Azari Takami 1990). This is an important commercial species in the southern part of the Caspian Sea and has a great demand, due to its good taste and culinary customs of the local people. Their stocks mainly declined due to over fishing, illegal catch, pollution, and deterioration of habitats and natural spawning grounds in most of its spawning habitats. The main capture method for kutum in the southern part of the Caspian Sea is beach seine, but other devices such as gill net have illegally been used. The catch rate was over 17,000 tons in 2008 (Abdolmaleki and Ghaninezhad 2008). Environmental disturbances are generally regarded as a potential source of stress, and this can theoretically be detected by changes in hormone or substrate concentrations in plasma or by changes in erythro- cytes parameters (Donaldson 1981; Barton 1997). To inves- tigate the fish blood parameters and their changes, the normal rate of these factors must be initially measured in healthy fish. Indices such as hemoglobin, hematocrit, red and white cell counts, erythrocyte sedimentation rates, and dif- ferential blood smears have all been used as indicators of disease and stress (Blaxhall and Daisley 1973; Wedemeyer and Yasutake 1977). The problems associated with capture are among the least studied aspects of fish physiological research. Between capture and the final release into a labo- ratory aquarium, it is very likely that a fish could be subjected to a variety of different stresses. Several workers have documented some side effects of capture on fish. Bouck and Ball ( 1966) investigated the influence of capture methods on rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) and reported a perturbation of blood parameters. Distinct differences in behavior were noted in the post-captive fish, which lead to extensive several workers have investigated various aspects of the physiological and biochemical changes that occur at the time of capture (Hattingh and Van Pletzen 1974; Swift 1983). With regard to capture stress, some studies were investigated effects of capture gear and duration on different species (Wells et al. 1986; Chopin et al. 1996; Frick et al. 2010). The objective of the present study was to investigate M. H. Gharache (*) : S. Y. Paighambary Department of Fisheries Sciences, Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, University of Gorgan, Shahid Beheshti Ave, 49138-15739, Gorgan, Iran e-mail: gharache.m@gmail.com A. Golpour Young Researcher Club, Islamic Azad University, Lahijan Branch, P.O. Box 1616, Lahijan, Iran Comp Clin Pathol DOI 10.1007/s00580-013-1728-2