If you think catch-and-release is “sporting,” think again. Comedian
Ellen DeGeneres’ analogy is to run some pedestrians down with
your car. When they get up and brush themselves off, roll down
the window and say, “OK, you can go now. I just wanted to see
if I could hit ya!” Never mind that they might be suffering injuries
to their fins, or limbs, and internal organs—that’s part of the
“fun,” right?
Anglers say catch-and-release fishing is a harmless pastime that
fosters an appreciation of the outdoors, helps conserve fish populations,
brings families together...yada, yada, yada. We say it’s cruel.
Here’s what else anglers are saying--and why we don’t buy their
lines.
“Catch-and-release fishing isn’t nearly as cruel as hunting.”
Actually, fishing may be worse. In catch-and-release, the same
fish can be hooked again and again—causing them ever more injuries
and pain.
Trout Unlimited’s Charles Gauvin admits, “It is possible to go
to places like the South Platte in Colorado and the San Juan in
New Mexico where the fish are battered, their lips are bruised
from being caught so many times.” Adds U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service biologist Mike Buntjer, “I’ve seen fish with their maxillaries
[lips] torn off, eyes missing and with flies and hooks stuck all
over them.”
Being hooked hurts!
Fish have sensitive nerve endings in their lips and mouths. And
they begin to die slowly of suffocation the moment they are pulled
from the water. Says Dr. Donald Broom, animal welfare advisor
to the British government, “The scientific literature is quite
clear. Anatomically, physiologically and biologically, the pain
system in fish is virtually the same as in birds and mammals....In
animal welfare terms, you have to put fishing in the same category
as hunting.”
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“If fish are hurt when they’re hooked, why do they keep biting?”
Anglers go to great lengths to hide their hooks with bait and
lures, and even the most injured animals will continue to seek
out food and fight to stay alive.
“At least the fish don’t die.”
Wanna bet? Anglers who “play” fish to the brink of exhaustion
are wishful thinkers if they believe their prey will swim away
unharmed. Prolonged exertion causes lactic acid to build up in
fish’s bodies—which causes their muscle cells to start decomposing
from lack of oxygen—and greatly decreases their chances of surviving.
A Canadian study found that removing exhausted fish from the water
before releasing them also ups the risk: Rainbow trout exposed
to the air for 30 seconds had a 27% mortality rate; those out
of water for 60 seconds, a 72% rate. That’s because water provides
fish with oxygen and helps to dissipate the high levels of lactic
acid caused by struggling on the end of a hook.
Many other factors can affect mortality, too. Bass, walleyes and
other fish caught in deep waters can die from inflated air bladders.
Cuts from fishing line, wounds from hooks and boat-side injuries
all decrease fish’s chances of survival. So does catching fish
with bait. Fish who bite bait often swallow the hooks, resulting
in internal injuries. Or the hooks become encysted, making the
fish more susceptible to deadly viral infections.
“If catch-and-release fishing is so bad, it wouldn’t be practiced
at tournaments.”
Anglers may not realize the extent of the problem. The Oklahoma
Department of Wildlife Conservation found that the fish mortality
rate at catch-and-release tournaments can be as high as 43% during
summer months, when water temperatures are warmer.
“But,” says the department’s report, “participants and contest
organizers would have seldom seen dead bass to give them indications
that tournament-related mortality was occurring,” because weakened
fish are eaten by turtles and other animals, or they die of their
injuries several days after anglers have packed up and gone home.
Catch our Web site, www.NoFishing.net.
