Catch & Release to save saltwater fish populations?

Team Efusjon · Post by **Team Efusjon** » Wed May 19, 2010 1:56 pm

Hmmmmmm....

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me ... 6584.story

Ray L. · Post by **Ray L.** » Wed May 19, 2010 3:12 pm

this was advertised on another website. Sounded like a lot of fun. They had cameras ready and you could still win the jackpot money as well.

mark poulson · Post by **mark poulson** » Thu May 20, 2010 5:26 am

If it keeps recreational fishing alive, it's a good thing.
Lots of salt water tournaments already to catch and release.
Fingers crossed.

DL · Post by DL » Thu May 20, 2010 5:56 am

Team Efusjon wrote:Hmmmmmm....

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me ... 6584.story

I dont know how many times I have been on a cattle boat and every clown on the boat keeps EVERY fish they catch...no matter the size. And the Deckhands look the other way so their fish counts won't be low. When my buddies and I go out the only fish we keep are jackpot fish...so most of the time we come home empty handed

Catch and release on the local boats needs to be encouraged...and practiced.

BassManDan · Post by **BassManDan** » Thu May 20, 2010 5:58 am

Let's see how they deal with barotrauma when they aren't just catching gophers and scorpion fish in 30 ft of water!

A noble idea, but them rockfish are just too dang tasty!

Derrek Stewart · Post by **Derrek Stewart** » Thu May 20, 2010 7:04 am

This is a good thing. When on party boats I have been laughed at and mocked when I release my sand bass. They say hey there are guys on board that will eat that fish. I just tell them , then let that guy catch it and then it is his.

The jackpot is chump change. Unlike the boat and the $100.00 prize mentioned in the article the jackpot is normally made up of participants contributing $5.00 to a pool. This generally does not amount to much money. Days gone by when I first started fishing the salt I would give the jackpot to the deck hands anyway.

The jackpot fish should be released more so than the shortys. Species such as sand bass and calicos are very slow growing, it takes many years for them to obtain jackpot size. Just like freshwater you don't want to take these fish out of the gene pool.

The catch reports keep dropping each year and the local boats find it harder and harder to get on fish. The problem is the culture of the party boat system. They feel that it is imperative to post a high catch count and they want everyone waiting at the docks to see anglers de-boarding with sacks of fish. This brings more anglers back out.

They could change their methods and the way reporting is done and protect their resource at the same time. The can keep a tally of caught fish even if they are released. They can also weigh a jackpot contender, mark the weight take a photo and let it go. When returning to the dock, a board can be marked so onlookers can have that visual indication of a successful boat. If they were really savvy that board could be digital and the count can be shown even before the boat returns.

I would suggest that if this practice was adopted that in a few years the catch rates would go up. The idea that one is fishing a party boat and is feeding their family does not make a lot of sense to me. Boarding fee, equipment, terminal tackle, line, deck hand tips-(ha) does not justify what the average angler leaves with.

The gaf will also have to be solved. It is hard to release them alive and well after being gaffed.

In my opinion you are crazy to eat local party boat fish. At least in the Greater Los Angeles area. Flush twice it is long way to the bay.