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Instead of killing all the fish they hook, many
anglers are releasing them alive back into the rivers. In some places
government fishing regulations insist upon it. This is called catch
and release fishing, and it is an important conservation measure. Research
shows that most of the fish are not harmed by being caught and released,
if it is done carefully. One of the most important things NOT to do
is take the fish out of the water while the hook is being taken out.
Another good thing to use is barbless hooks, which makes it very easy
to quickly release a salmon. Keep your hands wet while you handle the
fish so you do not rub off their protective mucous coating. Using a
specially constructed catch and release fishing net also helps you control
the fish and release it faster. Finally, treat the fish gently. Don’t
squeeze the females hard so that their eggs accidentally pop out! Don’t
use a gaff hook which pierces the fish’s body! Once released, these
salmon can eventually spawn, which will help seed the river with eggs
so there will be salmon for the future.
An Atlantic Salmon Federation research project showed
that some salmon that are caught and released by fishermen can be caught
a second and in some cases a third time by different anglers. The shortest
time between being caught and released by a fisherman, and being caught
a second time by a different angler, is 5 seconds. We did this by putting
numbered, colored tags on the fish that let us rapidly identify each
individual. As long as the fish is alive, we have a chance of someone
else catching it, noting the tag number, and helping us to learn new
things about where fish go and what they do.
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