Catch and Release
Catch and Release is a great concept and conservation practice. I hope that it will not be hijacked by animal rights activists. In my search for a website with good Catch and Release guidelines, I was contacted by a group that was just launching a Catch and Release website where there are absolutely no pictures of dead fish permitted. It made me scratch my head wondering if it was sponsored by PETA.
The concept of Catch and Release and how it works must be understood, or in some cases it is pointless. Here's a story about one of my fishing trips and how C & R worked on that day. Several years ago I was fishing the Delaware River when a fisherman downstream landed a heavy brown trout that went about 19 inches. After playing it for a long time, he finally brought it in, dragged it across the rocky shore, grabbed it inside the gills and walked over to show it to me. It had dirt on it, was so worn out that it could not move, and had been deeply hooked. I commented on what a nice fish it was and assumed he would keep it, but was astounded when he threw (actually threw) it back into the river! Just because a fish is released does not guarantee it will survive.
That trout should have ended up on a plate, because there is no way in hell it survived. Any single thing it endured would have killed it. Having the slime scrubbed off by the bank guaranteed infection. Having his fingers in its gills destroyed its ability to breath. Being played to exhaustion cast it into an unrecoverable state of shock. Tissue damage from being deeply hooked eliminated its ability to feed properly. This treatment was a death sentence. My fellow fisherman meant well, he just didn't know the proper practice of Catch and Release.
The days of hundreds of fish on a meat pole are over, but that doesn't mean that killing a single fish is a crime against the planet. I hope that stories like this one, and other educational efforts will help reduce senseless fish mortality. Respect the resource, and do your part to preserve the outdoor heritage and resource for future generations. Check out Catch and Release info at:
http://flyfisherman.com/skills/release/
http://www.huntstats.com/releasing.fish.html
http://www.absc.usgs.gov/research/Fisheries/Alagnak/catch_and_release.htm
And for more evidence that Catch and Release is a good idea:http://www.reuters.com/article/governmentFilingsNews/idUSN1640365620080416
Here in Florida there are slot limits on many of our gamefish. More and more jurisdictions are utilizing a slot limit strategy to achieve resource management goals. While I am not a biologist, I am glad to see this approach gaining in popularity.