CATCH & release is now firmly part of the
angling psyche. In only a few short decades, our
collective mentality has changed from taking
practically everything to keeping only what we
need and carefully releasing the rest. In many
cases, fish – especially those of breeding size –
are these days targeted solely for C&R purposes.
In what would doubtless be an interesting
experiment, I reckon if you transported a gung-ho
fisho from the 1970s or ’80s to the here and now,
you’d more than likely be able to knock him down
with a feather once you started into the C&R.
Either that or he’d belt you one for being so damned
stupid as to let all those perfectly good fish go ...
I think it’s fair to say that C&R wasn’t really back
on the agenda back in the glory days of Aussie
sportfishing. I have a vast library of Fishos stretching
back to the 1960s here in my office. When I get a
spare minute – which unfortunately isn’t all that
often in these days of multimedia mayhem – I enjoy
f licking through the yellowed pages of these vintage
publications. Piles of dead fish – often accompanied
by a shirtless angler with a half-smoked fag drooping
out from under a bushy moustache – seemed almost
omnipresent. And Fisho was – and I hope still is- regarded as a “sportfishing” magazine. It wasn’t
aimed at the “meat fishing brigade”. I hate to think of
the carnage that would have been displayed in the
pages of a magazine aimed at that market ...
That said, there’s nothing wrong with taking
fish for a feed. Personally speaking, I really enjoy
catching and eating fish. I take a particular
pleasure in bringing home fresh food for my
family. But I think we all know now that fish
stocks aren’t limitless. That’s why management
tools like bag and size limits are needed. And it’s
also why we need to learn from the excesses and
mistakes of the past.
But we should also take advantage of new
information, especially when it comes to advice
on handling fish prior to release. If we’re going to
invest time, energy and money in the goal of
catching a fish, admire it and then release it, it
makes sense to ensure the fish has the very best
chance of survival. While non-fishos will never
understand it, the point of C&R is that we do
our thing by catching the fish but it then
continues its life, hopefully to breed and produce
lots of other fish. If that doesn’t happen, well,
there’s really no point to it.
Fortunately, research is enabling switched-on
fishos to understand what to do – and not do- when it comes to releasing fish. And studies
show that just about all the fish we release survive
extremely well. A couple of recent advances
include the use of release weights on golden perch
caught in impoundments and data from the US
showing that billfish survive much better if not
removed from the water.
Do a search on fishingworld.com.au for more
details on these reports. I never knew goldens could
potentially suffer barotrauma and after reading The
Billfish Foundation’s report on handling marlin I’ll
certainly never “cuddle” another beakie ...
While some species may pose handling
challenges, others are prime candidates for very
successful release. Bream, f latties, kings, snapper,
GTs, southern bluefin tuna and bass are just a few
species I can think of which fall into this category.
In fact, good fish handling skills sometimes result
in amazing results. Take, for instance, the kingfish
recently tagged and released in SA and then
recaptured 1450 nautical miles east and north in
Coffs Harbour. Or the big jewies tagged and
recaught around the Sydney area as part of the
NSW Research Angler Program.
The more we learn about the movements and
lifecycles of tagged fish – and the more big fish
that get a chance to breed due to better
management and changes in angler attitudes –
the more we – and the fish – will benefit.
Like they say, a great fish is too good to catch
just once.Release The Fish,
Reap The Rewards
Jim Harnwell
Editor – Fishing WorldBY JIM HARNWELLf we’re going to invest
time, energy and money
in C&R, it makes sense to
ensure the fish has the very
best chance of survival.”
I
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ISSN 1320-
EDITORIAL
fishingworld.com.au | February 2015 | 13