The Benefits of Catch and Release Fishing
For the world’s oceans to continue thriving as sources of food, scientists must be able to harvest enough seafood at a rate that allows stocks to repopulate. Unfortunately, demand for seafood is driving overfishing, removing more than 77 billion kilograms (170 billion pounds) of marine wildlife from the world’s seas each year. This overfishing is depleting the world’s marine ecosystem and threatening future generations to have access to healthy seafood.
Overfishing can cause permanent evolutionary changes to a species and decreases their population size. It also causes a loss of genetic diversity and can make it harder for the species to survive the challenges of climate change, habitat degradation, and pollution.
Using Catch and Release techniques to catch and release native fish has been shown to benefit the environment and ensure that these animals live a long and healthy life. It’s a great way to help a fishery and improve the ecosystem around it, while at the same time providing an enjoyable recreational experience for those who love to fish.
In saltwater fisheries, catching and releasing native fish can also provide real economic benefits to the local community. For example, catch and release methods have helped to create fishing tourism in countries like Brazil, where millions of people are employed.
The benefits of catching and releasing native fish are far-reaching, ranging from improving the health of the local environment to boosting tourism revenues. This is especially true in areas where commercial fishing is banned, like in the Bahamas or Indonesia.
When done correctly, catch and release techniques can be used to catch and release many different species of fish in an efficient manner. However, it’s important to understand that it takes practice to be successful in catching and releasing native fish.
Handling and releasing fish properly is key to their survival, as it helps to avoid damage to internal organs, remove protective scales, and reduce the risk of infection. It’s also important to use appropriate weight-class tackle, land your catch quickly, and leave it in the water while you release it.
By following best practices and educating other anglers, you can help to improve the health of your local fishery. For instance, Keep Fish Wet is an organization that is dedicated to educating anglers on science based catch and release practices.
Some European nations offer mandatory angler education programs that teach best practices for catching and releasing fish. These programs are associated with licensing processes and can be beneficial to both conservation and fish welfare.
These programs can also be useful in reducing the amount of bycatch, or other unwanted species caught while attempting to catch and release fish. Bycatch is one of the biggest problems that face a lot of fisheries worldwide, and it’s an important part of fish conservation.
The benefits of catching and releasing fish are vast, and it’s easy to see why so many conservationists support these practices. When compared to other land-based sources of food, responsibly managed seafood is a sustainable source of food that has a minimal impact on the environment.
