addict,


You do realize that fish aren't humans and vice versa, yes? A hook in my lip and a hook in a fish's mouth isn't the same thing. Sure, you can think of how a hook would feel in your mouth, but can you feel how it does to a fish? Not unless you ARE one. If a fish is hurt that much, why do you suppose they'll bite again almost immediately after being landed once? Their memory of painful stimuli HAS to be longer than 5 minutes. (Unless Salmo G. has some study results to the contrary?)

To say C&R CAN"T be done without impact is untrue. To say it's not done now without impact isn't, since some of our uneducated brethren feel the need to drag fish up on the sand, drop it once, and then take 5 minutes to photograph it. Done correctly, C&R can be done with INSIGNIFICANT impact to the run. That means a fish will die here and there, but a run will not be made extinct by C&R fisheries.

I don't find the claim that C&R has no impact on a fish run to be ridiculous. It may not be impact-free the way it's done today, but what's the alternative? Closing everything down so not even one fish dies? Maybe that's what you're looking for, but I don't believe we need to take that step yet.


Fish on..........



[This message has been edited by Dan S. (edited 06-06-2000).]