by Steve Kallenberg

Created on: June 16, 2009

I am honestly not sure why this issue is in question. Of course catch-and-release fishing should be legal. I don't see anything wrong with it. Fishing is a fun activity, though I will admit that its slow nature takes some getting used to. I am fortunate enough to be able to fish for about two weeks in the summer in Minnesota, the land of 10,000 lakes. Most of what I do is catch-and-release. Often this is because I can't seem to catch the larger fish, but that's beside the point. There are no grounds for this method of fishing to be against the law. I can see problems with keeping every single fish caught because it can cause a shortage of fish in the water (which happens to be a global issue right now), but catching fish and then putting them right back into the water should be no problem.

On the whole, releasing the fish that a person catches does not harm anything. One could argue that catch-and-release fishing is good and healthy for the people fishing and for the body of water in which they choose to fish. With more experience they learn the proper way to reel in fish, to handle them when caught, and to either keep them for a meal or to let them back into the water. And if the person fishing is using live bait such as worms, minnows, leeches, etc., the fish get fed. So actually, we fishers are helping to support the ecosystem and the world as a whole. The fish are relatively low on the overall food chain, but they still have a great importance to their surrounding area. What we do is fun and exciting for us, but it also does not damage or risk the wellbeing of the fish.

I will say that exceptions should be made when using the catch-and-release method. If, for example, an angler hooks a fish the wrong way or the fish swallows a hook (it can happen to anyone), and the fish has no chance for survival, then it would be wrong to throw it back into the water because dead fish in bodies of water don't help anything. On the contrary, I imagine that the decaying process is harmful to other water dwellers, not to mention it's disgusting.

So there, that is my only exception when deal with catch-and-release fishing. When the fish caught is injured beyond repair, it should not be released back into the water. But in general, catching fish, experiencing the excitement and thrill of a good haul, and releasing the fish back into their habitat is a great way to relax and enjoy one's time and should not be illegal.

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