02-25-2008, 09:49 PM
Did anyone else see this article? I wanted to see what you guys thought...
Catch and Release may not be Harmless
Some of us are thinking about fishing, and no wonder.
There's only 55 days and 13 hours left to the opening of fishing season. Not that anyone's counting.
There's growing scuttlebutt in the angling community questioning the wisdom of catch-and-release angling.
There's increasing talk that catch-and-release isn't as benign as once thought, that released fish have been seen to behave erratically or simply die after a day or two.
If it's true, this throws the whole matter of catch-and-release fishing -- a huge part of fishing in New Brunswick, particularly with bass and salmon fishing -- into question. What's the sense of letting fish go if they are going to die? Is it only done to make the fisherman feel better, not the fish?
Some think so.
They say they've seen dead fish with evidence they'd been caught and released, and that they've seen for themselves released fish behaving oddly, including swimming in the wrong direction after their release and failing to spawn, and that they've seen this often.
They also wonder why jurisdictions where you can actually kill adult salmon aren't seeing any great declines in salmon populations.
Obviously, releasing a fish that has been played halfway to death does no one any good, except for some oaf's bragging rights back at the camp. Those fools might as well shoot the fish with a 12-gauge as release it -- the effect is the same, a wasted precious natural resource.
It's not clear yet what is the scientific truth of the matter and what's simply conjecture by well-meaning fishermen with decades of first-hand experience.
Until I'm convinced otherwise, I'll continue to err on the side of caution. Any fish that can toy with me on the end of my fly line for 10 minutes or so wins automatic freedom by being snapped off at that point, and any salmon that ends up in my frying pan will come accompanied by a sales slip from Moncton Fish Market.
[signature]
Catch and Release may not be Harmless
Some of us are thinking about fishing, and no wonder.
There's only 55 days and 13 hours left to the opening of fishing season. Not that anyone's counting.
There's growing scuttlebutt in the angling community questioning the wisdom of catch-and-release angling.
There's increasing talk that catch-and-release isn't as benign as once thought, that released fish have been seen to behave erratically or simply die after a day or two.
If it's true, this throws the whole matter of catch-and-release fishing -- a huge part of fishing in New Brunswick, particularly with bass and salmon fishing -- into question. What's the sense of letting fish go if they are going to die? Is it only done to make the fisherman feel better, not the fish?
Some think so.
They say they've seen dead fish with evidence they'd been caught and released, and that they've seen for themselves released fish behaving oddly, including swimming in the wrong direction after their release and failing to spawn, and that they've seen this often.
They also wonder why jurisdictions where you can actually kill adult salmon aren't seeing any great declines in salmon populations.
Obviously, releasing a fish that has been played halfway to death does no one any good, except for some oaf's bragging rights back at the camp. Those fools might as well shoot the fish with a 12-gauge as release it -- the effect is the same, a wasted precious natural resource.
It's not clear yet what is the scientific truth of the matter and what's simply conjecture by well-meaning fishermen with decades of first-hand experience.
Until I'm convinced otherwise, I'll continue to err on the side of caution. Any fish that can toy with me on the end of my fly line for 10 minutes or so wins automatic freedom by being snapped off at that point, and any salmon that ends up in my frying pan will come accompanied by a sales slip from Moncton Fish Market.
[signature]