I agree Peahead, I will just say I vote no to catch and release because of mortality rate.
Saltwater Catch and Release?
- Thread starter Pippen
- Start date
I agree Peahead, I will just say I vote no to catch and release because of mortality rate.
Big Green Machine
Well-Known Member
Let's say you retain 15 Chinook this year. They are all dead. But the catch and release angler lands 30, all released. Assuming a 50% mortality rate, which is really over exaggerated, you are even. I know it's an oversimplification. Does your opinion change if we now add to the mix wild vs. hatchery fish? What about salt vs. freshwater? I caught and released over 20 hatchery trout last weekend, never kept a single one because I don't like trout. All were handled with utmost care, never left the water.
Freshwater fish do not count in any way here, you can't compare the art of flyfishing to trolling hardware for meat. A true sports fisher is not out in the chuck he's casting a fly at a river mouth. Come Aug and guys are catching big dark springs full of eggs I'm disgusted they kill them. And to catch your limit then possibly kill more egg holding fish? I will continue my method of catch my limit and go home, freezer has only what I eat .
Fishtank
Well-Known Member
Why is it fly fishers think there sh#t don't stink?not all of course,but alot
harper44
Well-Known Member
fishin_magician
Well-Known Member
Survival of C&R Chinooks is better than 90% based on a tagging study which was shared with me 18 years ago. DFO and the PSC were both involved and that is based in recovered carcasses. Coho didn't fare as well but eaten by seals, whales, sea lions and harvested but not reported account for some. The Coho were C&R and observed in survival tanks over hours.
Big Green Machine
Well-Known Member
So salties are not true sport anglers by your definition? I consider all fishing an art in some form. So it's ok to bonk Salmon for meat in the salt but not ethically angle for them in rivers? I consider myself a true sport fisher, but I don't leave that philosophy when I hit the chuck. What's your point here?
Big Green Machine
Well-Known Member
What about those who fly fish the salt? I fish bait in the salt and rivers. Get over it. Don't paint everyone with the same brush stroke. I love killing and eating Salmon, but I also love fly fishing. What don't you understand?
Reel Time
Well-Known Member
Exactly, don't limit on your license and then continue to fish without someone having a open space on theirs. There are many eyes on the water.
+2 - If you want a bigger fish or you want to fish for longer, release the ones that are healthy. If you have bleeders, keep them. Whether you're done at 7AM, 10AM, 3PM, or 5PM or how much you paid for the trip doesn't really enter into the picture. There will be days where you release a moderate size fish in the hopes of catching a bigger one and never get a bigger one. There will be days when you get unlucky and have a limit of mostly small bleeders early in the day. There will be days when everything work out and you limit on big ones. There will be days where you catch and release all day and never retain a fish (if that's your goal). That's fishing - sometimes things work out just they way you want them to, sometimes they don't. But I think most would agree that it's unethical to release fish that are likely to die and it's illegal to catch and release when you've already punched your limit for the day.
As for the west side coho fishery, I agree that it can be very frustrating when the ratio of wilds to hatchery is high. In that case, if you want to keep a limit, you have to sort through a lot of wild fish to find your 2 coho and in some conditions (wilds to hatchery ratio >10), the impact on the wilds would potentially be smaller if the regs allowed one to keep the first two wilds and then quit. However, that's not the law so we must release wilds that we know will not survive. If we could trust everyone to keep the first two and not trade up OR we could trust people to only retain wilds when it's clear they won't survive, the law wouldn't be written as it is. But reality dictates the rules we have. In such situations (e.g. high wild to hatchery ratio for coho), different fishermen will make different decisions about what is ethical. Some won't fish at all as they don't want to molest more fish. Some will switch areas or gear in an attempt to reduce the impact on wilds. Some will fish until they get their hatchery limits and just accept that wild mortality. I'm not going to make a judgement call on others in this situation. I don't think that the call is black and white. I can say that during such times, I focus my efforts on catching springs. But I fish frequent and I always have enough salmon to eat. So I have the luxury to make a decision that others may not.
GLG
Well-Known Member
I had a quick look around to see what the science say's about this and have a couple of links to share.
First one only the abstract but it gives us some good information on C&R on salmon in the river.
http://www.researchgate.net/publica..._Caught_and_Released_in_a_River_Sport_Fishery
I know that DFO uses 10% mortality on Coho for releases here in south coast of BC ocean fishing. To me that would indicate that this number would include some anglers with good C&R technique and others with less then optimal technique.
Another paper I ran across that was an interesting read was this one.
[h=1]Animal welfare perspectives on recreational angling[/h]ABSTRACT Fish captured by recreational anglers are often released either voluntarily or because of harvest regulations in a process called ''catch-and-release''. Catch-and-release angling is thought to be beneficial for the conservation of fish stocks based on the premise that most of the fish that are released survive. However, expanding interest in animal welfare has promoted debate regarding the ethics of catch-and-release angling.
Animal welfare perspectives on recreational angling - ResearchGate. Available from: http://www.researchgate.net/publica..._welfare_perspectives_on_recreational_angling [accessed Apr 28, 2015].
To read the paper go to the button marked "view" on the right hand side of the screen.
My thoughts......
Yes I practice C&R, we all do, because there are times when the rules make that choice for us. The trick is to do it with the best method possible so we can lower our impact. Me, I use the gaff and do it as fast as possible and keep the fish out of the water for less the 5 seconds. (the 5 second rule)
First one only the abstract but it gives us some good information on C&R on salmon in the river.
http://www.researchgate.net/publica..._Caught_and_Released_in_a_River_Sport_Fishery
This study is only for the Willamette river and the numbers may not be the same for other rivers or for the ocean.
I know that DFO uses 10% mortality on Coho for releases here in south coast of BC ocean fishing. To me that would indicate that this number would include some anglers with good C&R technique and others with less then optimal technique.
Another paper I ran across that was an interesting read was this one.
[h=1]Animal welfare perspectives on recreational angling[/h]ABSTRACT Fish captured by recreational anglers are often released either voluntarily or because of harvest regulations in a process called ''catch-and-release''. Catch-and-release angling is thought to be beneficial for the conservation of fish stocks based on the premise that most of the fish that are released survive. However, expanding interest in animal welfare has promoted debate regarding the ethics of catch-and-release angling.
Animal welfare perspectives on recreational angling - ResearchGate. Available from: http://www.researchgate.net/publica..._welfare_perspectives_on_recreational_angling [accessed Apr 28, 2015].
To read the paper go to the button marked "view" on the right hand side of the screen.
My thoughts......
Yes I practice C&R, we all do, because there are times when the rules make that choice for us. The trick is to do it with the best method possible so we can lower our impact. Me, I use the gaff and do it as fast as possible and keep the fish out of the water for less the 5 seconds. (the 5 second rule)
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