Effects of catch-and-release?

By Jenny McCarthy

FOR THE SOU’WESTER

David Dyson wasn't expecting what he pulled into his net on a fishing trip a few weeks ago.

At first he said he didn't think anything of it when his son told him one of the salmon wasn't good because it had something on it. When he picked up the fish later in the day, he said he was surprised to see a rubber ring tight around its midsection, cutting deep into the fish's skin.

In his 50 years of fishing, it wasn't the first time he's seen fish damaged in such ways, he said but this time he kept the fish.

"I don't know how he survived it," he said.

Dyson claimed it's anglers and sport fishermen who are causing salmon to be damaged like this.The fish he also had a cut on the side of its mouth, a tell-tale sign of a hook that once caught in there. Its tail was split, something Dyson said you often see with fish that have been caught and released where the line often splits the tail.

He said this prevents the fish from swimming through a strong current and making it upriver, hindering its ability to get to the spawning areas. Without the momentum of the tail as one, it can't get up the inertia to withstand the pressure of the water.

Paul Benson, a marine biology professor at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia who also works with DFO, said he couldn't comment on the injuries without seeing them and he couldn't predict the effect of catch-and-release on spawning but he agrees that any injuries would not help the salmon in its spawning efforts.

"Any unnecessary injuries or depletion of the salmon's energy reserves will probably reduce the probability that the salmon will survive the winter and return to saltwater to feed, and potentially spawn again in another year."

Catch-and-release is a process that has been carried out around the world for more than a century. It has been heralded as a positive move towards species conservation but only if it is carried out properly.

Mark Kiley, a professor at the Marine Institute, said most people he knows that participate in catch-and-release have been doing it for a long time and do it without harming the fish. He said there are two sides to it but that ultimately common sense should prevail for the angler. Playing with the fish for two long or causing the type of damage Dyson has seen, he agrees is not a good thing.

"If everybody did that, that's not good for the fish stocks," he said.

In Canada catch-and-release is the rule for many species of fish rather than the choice. In the case of salmon, barbless hooks are required but as Dyson said and demonstrated with his fish, the rules are not always followed.

Dyson said the people who participate in catch-and-release for the fun of it only make things harder for the fishermen like him who make their living from the fish they catch. He thinks the government should only allow the anglers to catch their quota of two tags per season and that's it.

"Is this doing justice to our fishery? Do we need to go and play with the fish until we kill them all?"

There has been plenty of debate into how much playing a salmon can handle before it is permanently damaged or dies.

Benson said there are consequences of 'playing' the salmon or catching them to release them again.

"One consequence of being 'played' by fishermen is that some of the salmon's stored energy is used up while resisting capture. This subtracts from energy the salmon might otherwise use to get to the spawning grounds, dig a nest (if female) or (if male) compete with other males for access to females," he said.

He added the consequence for the fish depends on its condition, how long it's been 'played' and how many times it's been 'played'.

For a fisherman like Dyson, he thinks the salmon in the condition of the ones he's found should make the Department of Fisheries and Oceans think twice about how they let the recreational fishery play out.