Many Americans grew up thinking that catch and release was the gentlest way to fish. Now, Vox says that may not be the case. The outlet delves into a hobby that catches billions of fish a year — many of which are raised and stocked just so fishermen can reel in them — then returns most of them to the water injured, exhausted and more likely to die. Studies offer a wide range for mortality, but one experiment on Chinook salmon found that about a quarter died within 10 days of being captured and then kept in tanks. Almost all suffered damaged ailerons; nearly half suffered serious hooking injuries. “No fish is better off because we caught them,” says biologist and fisherman Steven Cooke of Canada’s Carleton University. “It is impossible to catch a fish without causing, firstly, some level of injury, and secondly, physiological disruption.”
Vox wades through the live debate over whether fish feel pain, with some scientists calling the evidence thin and others saying fish behavior and biology strongly suggest that they do. Even skeptics are urging anglers to change the way they fish: keep fish submerged, shorten the fight, use barbless hooks, kill quickly if you want to eat them. The article also notes collateral damage – from mutilated seabirds to stressed ecosystems – and questions whether fun, family time and the “thrill of the hunt” justify the damage. “What is often described as a peaceful, even benevolent, pastime is, in another light, a more tortuous activity,” notes the media. For the complete ethical and scientific case, more here.
Gn world
