A lot of good stuff in here guys. Kudos to the folks who understood the question and provided real info that I didn't have access too. Especially the delayed mortality studies.
I was just interested in learning something I didn't know about. I should've known the word science and research would make a few break out in hives.

I always knew why tournament directors made the 3-fish decisions, error on the side of caution. Which is the responsible decision. I just wondered what/if there was studies supporting it. Because it undeniably changes the strategy of a tournament angler.