How to Reduce Stress on Your Catch

Modern-day fishing is environmentally conscious. In general, there is a higher consensus on preserving the environment due to dying ecosystems, overfishing, and overall inhumane ways to fish. There was not a big emphasis on taking care of the environment in the past. Industrial factories dumped waste into bodies of water while anglers held no regard for overfishing. Agricultural industries in the past built dams and diverted water away from large lakes enough to dry them out. Accumulated incidents of destroying the environment made long-lasting effects that we continue to feel today. In response to the destruction of maritime ecosystems and those that live in them, many institutions have made numerous efforts to right the wrongs. 

Today, fishing is a highly regulated industry closely monitored by public and private institutions. Officers in charge of nature preserve like the United States Fish and Wildlife Services and the United States Coast Guard are well involved with maintaining the order with America’s ecosystems. Season fishing is strictly enforced along with bag and size limits. Highly valued trophy fish low in population within a specific area can only be fished via catch and release. Many of the most important rules for fishing in public lakes and ponds can be found on the back of the state's fishing license. The licensing fees are used to maintain and invest in these bodies of water.

One newly emerging way of further preserving the environment is humanely catching fish. The catch and release method is at the forefront of sustainable and humane fishing. As its names suggest, this means that fish caught will be released. It’s a method made for anglers who fish for sport and not necessarily because of nourishment. Although many anglers show good hearts by using this method, not everyone knows how to handle fish. Handling fish through catch and release is different from bearing the fish meant to be cleaned and eaten at home.  The hooks used on fish can often be fatal and kill them in the long run. 

In this article, anglers will find out why we need to humanely fish and how to do so. 

Catch And Release Fishing: Everything You Need To Know

Why Anglers Should Do it 

When seen as a sport, fishing is catching the biggest and most challenging fish. Rare trophy fish are also great for bragging at the local bar.  There’s pride in showing off, the catch of the day. But with the popularity of fishing comes concerns of population levels of fish. Muskellunge, trout, pike are all popular fish that wildlife officials strictly monitor, but it’s only barely enough to sustain schools of fish in the ecosystem. One way to make sure fish populations exceed the bare minimum is through the catch and release method. By making sure the fish lives another day, it will reproduce, making fishing trips more fun in the future. 

Common Misconceptions When Releasing Fish

Despite how good a fish looks before releasing it back into the water, there’s no sure way to tell whether or not it will die on its own when left there. This is because a long fight between an angler and a fish can put too much stress on it and even tire is enough to leave it dead—a couple of things anglers have to look out for when humanely fishing. Light fishing gear is not recommended as going through a long struggle can tire them.  Using heavy-duty fishing gear to stand its ground against the toughest fish is better. Matching the correct weight-class tackle is also just as important. 

Things Anglers Should Know When Releasing Fish

Live bait is harmful when paired with the catch and release method despite effectively enticing fish. Fish tend to bite deeper into the hook than a regular lure when using live bait. The bite is often lethal to fish, causing them to bleed to death. Many national parks that allow fishing prohibit the use of live bait. Other live bait problems can include nonnative bait entering new ecosystems and becoming classified as invasive species when fishing. Though it seems like a small problem, invasive species can lead to the devastation of their new environment. 

When taking off the line, many nature conservations argue that cutting the line without the leader and leaving the hook in is much safer than taking everything out of the fish. This is similar to the misconception that knives should immediately be taken out of stab wounds. In the same way, both can cause fatalities due to blood loss. Fish have a natural way of expelling hooks through encapsulation. This method coats the hook in its cellular tissue, which helps dissolve the material. 

When leaving hooks by cutting only up until the leader, it is best to use those made of bronze. Encapsulation works much better on these two materials as they dissolve much quicker than stainless steel or nickel-plated hooks. Circle hooks and barbless ones are better than the standard hooks anglers use. Barbless hooks, in particular, are much easier to remove when handling fish, in addition to being less stressful for them. Though regular hooks are much harder to use, they provide much better mortality for the fish when compared to regular J-shaped hooks. These hooks are much deeper and will often pierce gills and guts, leading to their eventual death.

Fishing For the Future

In all honesty, sustainable fishing is very tedious. There are many steps to take, and it can even be a bit more expensive when procuring the right equipment. In the end, sustainable and humane fishing is all about providing the next generation of anglers the same experience all of us had when we started fishing. This is through making sure that the environment is well protected and lasts through generations. The only way to do that is through responsible fishing through sustaining fish populations.