RESPECT

RESPECT

Paul Arden | Sunday, 13 June 2021

Just quickly covering for James and Tracy today! Something that came up this week is something that bothers me greatly. And I think it has to do respect or lack of respect for fish, life and maybe even ourselves. Partly it’s ignorance for sure.

Let me give you a list of things that I don’t like to see, and I’m sure you’ll have seen all of these too…

Fish laying on the dirt while they are unhooked. Fish being suspended from their lips by Boga grips or equivalent. Fish being kept out the water for any more than a second (Lungfish are different, I know, but they still need minimal handling and a fast release). Live fish being held on stringers. Barbed hooks and even multiple barbed trebles – for a fish that is to be released? Trout and other delicate fish being brought into a boat to be unhooked. Nets that are too small. Poor handling techniques. The list goes on.

Here in Asia, I regularly see some of the worst of this - fish on the ground, fish being left to die through asphyxiation, fish held on stringers, fish suspended by the Boga grip… but also I see it done here very well indeed. The difference I think between those who actually care for the fish and those who don’t, can be clearly seen in how they handle fish.

I think this is a very good website. https://www.keepfishwet.org/ I’ve offered to help translate their best practises into other languages (not me personally of course – not unless Hunglish is required!) because I think this would go some way to helping.

It’s not just about Catch and Release. It’s also about RESPECT!!

I have a friend who, many years ago, saw me handling a fish and became jealous because she thought that I cared more for the fish than I did about her! Well it was true, but also not a fair comparison, because the life of the fish is actually in our hands and how well we release fish greatly impacts whether it lives or dies afterwards. That is a huge responsibility.

For me, and I’m sure it’s the same for most of you reading this, the welfare of fish comes before my own personal welfare.

Who’s responsibility is it to educate and lead by example? Yours. Mine. Quite frankly anyone who fishes. But particularly fishing guides, instructors, fishing publications. We’ve come a long way in the past 30 years; I’ve seen the changes in my lifetime. But we must keep educating and continually raise our game. We still have a long way to go.

Cheers, Paul