Fishing Club Culls
Posted by Meggs | Environmental Posts | Posted on September 12th, 2008
Greetings once again!
I’ve had the opportunity to fish with a couple of local Sydney based fishing clubs that still operate a system where they catch and weigh their entire haul of fish to determine an allocation of points for the crew.
Ok, it may be true that the purpose of fishing is to catch fish and the bag weights of each individual is certainly a measure of the relative success of each angler.
However, it is also a case of keeping fish for the sake of a competition rather than releasing them to live and fight another day.
I’ve seen unwanted fish like sweep, leatherjackets and slimy mackerell kept for the sake of winning points on the weigh in and I think that this is a travesty.
What I believe that fishing clubs should consider is a system of point allocation that increases on the basis of legal size fish returned to the ocean rather than being kept by the angler.
This method would ensure that fish stocks aren’t unnecessarily depleted just to win a competition.
The fishing around the reef areas of Sydney and Wollongong are nowhere near their hey days and it is the likes of fishing clubs that should foster a mentality of catch and release rather than catch and kill.
I’d be happy to receive feedback on this post and continue the discussion.
Sea you later,
Skipper Meggs