It maybe that I have become much more aware of fish welfare than I used to be. When I have been fortunate enough to fish in America I have used live bait to catch snook, redfish and 1 bonito so writing this piece I am trying not to be hypocritical. The carp anglers are the extreme example of fish welfare, creams to help where the hook penetrated, single bed size unhooking mats that look like paddling pools. So the point of this article is what image do we portray, do most anglers really care what the general public think, do the public care that much. Angling has been altered by TV programs; Esther Ransom and split shot. Pretty conservation girls being interviewed decrying discarded shot and claiming mute swans are being poisoned. One claim was that swans where being poisoned in the city docks where the water is 15ft deep!!! I have been rebuked for not using an unhooking mat for carp although the fish was laid on a wet tump of grass. Yet the person who made the comment is a sea angler; I have yet to see a sea angler using a unhooking mat. Are our attitudes in this country different to other countries? Looking through the fishing sites across the world via Facebook there are many pictures of fish shown to the camera with gaffs through their backs. There seems to be a popular term when fishing oversees on the game boats to Rip some lip. The image that portrays is dreadful and if you rip the lip then I would think the fish gets away. The big fish are magnificent animals and I realise that many fish are tagged and released but the slang is gun ho! Sadly I have seen jetties in America slippery as a ice ring with discarded greenies caught in a net for bait and left too die without a thought of them being returned to the sea. The problem is there are so many caught in a cast net in one shot. Returning to our own shores the mackerel that are caught when they are running and just left to die. Are we watched by the general public! I do not know. Am I being over sensitive and over reacting I am not sure. Every fish that is caught no matter how big or small should be treated as well as it is feasible possible and dispatched quickly or returned as quickly as possible. If keep nets are required then please do not over crowd, use a second net as they do in the freshwater match fishing world. What do you think do you have an opinion?
Posted on: Mon, 21 Jul 2014 19:31:11 +0000
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