Quote:
Originally Posted by Brandonkop
Well if you think about it PETA has more ammunition if fishing is only catch and release for sport. Then it serves no practical function than to torture animals is how it can easily be viewed.
I think C&R mortality is a bit more than zero. It is quite a bit higher than most people think. If it wasn't fisheries wouldn't factor it into their conservation measurements. You mentioned handling, but that would only be one factor. Other considerations are water temperature, dissolved oxygen, depth fish was caught or recently ascended from, location of impalement, use of bait, bleeding, freezing and more.
I catch an release, but I like eating fish too. I'm more concerned about the current practice of protecting Apex predators while the rest of the pyramid collapses. That's poor management.
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Whoever considers that to be "torturing animals" is clearly missing the point. They can't feel pain.. scientific studies have proved that. Fish aren't sentient like humans or mammals.
Other non-consumptive sports also put unneccessary added stress to animals too, such as wildlife photography in many instances.
When handled properly and with
proper practices it's next to zero. Its good practice to not fish if the water temp is too high/ D.O. is too low, you don't have a shack on a -30 degree day, etc. You also don't have to fish in 40 FOW or use bait. If I'm catching and releasing I choose to fish with methods that are least harmful to the fish. Of course the odd one will be hooked deeply and won't survive. The average Joe often doesn't take these factors into consideration, and god knows we've all seen frequent poor fish handling skills from most anglers. I beleive the majority of C&R mortality is from poor handling and practices, not the much less frequent unpreventable death like a deeply hooked fish caught without the use of bait.
I like eating fish too but in a province of 4+ million and limited fishable waterbodies, people have to accept that our Fisheries are not your buffet.