Post-stocking mortality and blood cortisol concentrations of stocked Bloater (Coregonus hoyi) in Lake Ontario

Bloater (Coregonus hoyi) are an extirpated deepwater fish species in Lake Ontario. Bloater were reintroduced to Lake Ontario starting in 2012 from a donor population in Lake Michigan. Despite annual stocking, Bloater have yet to establish a self-sustaining population and success of stocking has been limited. Acoustic telemetry studies have identified that post-release survival of stocked Bloater is extremely low. Transport and handling stress are hypothesized as mechanisms limiting initial Bloater survival in Lake Ontario. To determine if transport and handling stress are affecting Bloater survival, a series of transport events were conducted and stress hormones (cortisol) and survival were quantified. This dataset contains the blood cortisol concentrations of Bloater at different time steps of transport and quantifies mortality on successive days after transport.