Re: Sooke coho
Originally Posted by
IronNoggin
No actually they are not.
Of course a lot depends on the condition of the fish to start with, age, size, robustness, etc.
Then the amount of time fighting. And under what conditions (water temp, etc etc etc)
Then the handling / release techniques (or lack thereof).
Then predation by seals & sea lions who literally & intentionally hunt for these released fish.
I have been directly involved in numerous studies, both commercial and recreational, studying C&R moralities.
30 % is on the higher end, but easily achievable with less experienced folks.
Regardless, even 15 % is too much.
Kill the first couple and be done with.
Nog
Frankly in this government report the numbers are all over the place.
It also depends on when these studies were done.
This report that's 30 years old, they are still considering barbed hooks.
Naturally the mortality rate is higher with barbed hooks.
We haven't used barbed hooks in at least a couple of decades.
One thing to consider also is difference between river fishing and ocean fishing.
Because the fish in the ocean are still feeding heavily they are probably swallowing hooks pretty deep.
In the river this is not quite the same.
Numbers I remember seeing from years past are mostly river angling.
Even if we agree that overall mortality is 15 percent, or 20, I still don't think we should be killing wild fish.
Last edited by adriaticum; 07-16-2019 at 08:44 AM.
Reason: 1
1. Human over population
2. Government burden and overreach