Catch and Release

Why should I practice Catch and Release Fishing?
(March 28,2001)

1. The Number of Anglers is increasing exponentially while the number of fish remains constant. Normally, fish populations are at their natural equilibrium levels. The problem is that angler populations continue to rise. In the past, the bountiful fish populations were relatively unaffected by the harvesting efforts of a few. But as an increasingly large number of anglers draw on a fixed fish supply overharvest becomes an issue.

The bottom line: with today's technology and angler populations, harvesting fish is unsustainable.

2. Eating fish is good for me right? Not necessarily if you care about your brain. Sampling has found the amount of toxic materials(lead, mercury, PCBs, and other heavy metals) to be alarmingly high in freshwater fish. This is true for almost all of the lakes and rivers in Minnesota and becomes increasing concerning as fish become larger, older, or close to the cities. But this is even a problem in many pristine waters such as the Boundary Waters Canoe Area where some lakes have been found to naturally contain high levels of heavy metals. If you know anything about Human Physiology, you know that heavy metals have a detrimental effect on the human nervous system. I personally will only eat fish when I go camping. For more information on the toxin levels in specific bodies of water and for specific fish species see the MN DNR home page. www.mndnr.gov

The bottom line: if you don't mind what Mercury does to your brain then continue to harvest fish.

3. This fish looks familiar. Compare the pattern of the fish in the first and second picture. It's the same fish less than a year later but it has grown. The measurement of the fish in 1998 is 36" and in 1999 is 39". For muskie fisherman three inches is significant. If you're like me, you enjoy catching larger fish. You also probably like to fish certain lakes, even certain structures on certain lakes. Because of this, keeping fish probably hurts your fishing the most.

The bottom line: the fish is your friend.

1998 36"	1999 39"