A Fishes Article from All-Creatures.org

Catch-and-Release: What's Going on With the Fish?

From Talin V Sahakian, Iranian Animal Rights Activist
Facebook posting, July 31, 2022

For most anglers it's the struggle to get fish out of the water that makes fishing so attractive, but it's not bad to know what's going on with the fish in the meantime?

To many people hook fishing seems like a healthy, relaxing hobby. Sitting in silence by the water or in a boat, waiting for a fish to bite the hook, and then all that "excitement" and emptying the everyday stress and sadness by breaking the resistance of the animal trying to save its life, is a bitter effort!

In recent decades, even a form of fishing called "catch and release" has become more popular. In this type of fishing, caught fish is not eaten but taken out of the water, measured by weight and height, photographed in the hands of the hunter, and then thrown back into the water. Here, the goal is mostly to compete to catch bigger fish and publish photos in magazines and the internet. For this group of fishermen, the photo of the fish caught is a reminder of a "victory". Many people may think that fishing is a "harmless" hobby, but adding the victim's point of view to the whole story is totally wrong.

For most anglers it's the struggle to get fish out of the water that makes fishing so attractive, but it's not bad to know what's going on with the fish in the meantime?

This image published on the website of the Tierschutzbund, German Animal Rights Organization, shows what happens after a hook bites a free fish:

• Free fish bites the hook and tries to save itself as soon as it realizes resistance. In the meantime, he only needs two thirds of his body's energy to absorb oxygen from the water.
• In order to increase the oxygen level in the blood, hormones are released in the body of fish that increase the absorption of oxygen in its bodies.
• Within seconds, the fish reaches the maximum energy level to escape. This is when the fisherman faces the fish resistance and feels his every movement and resistance.
• The fish is fighting for survival. Not enough oxygen reaches the muscles anymore. Blood acid levels increase and fish metabolism disrupts.
• A lot of water gets into the fish's body cavity. The balance of salt in the fish's body is disrupted and the fish, which had all that power a few moments ago, is weakening and is no longer able to resist.
• The fisherman pulls the fish out of the water and then the fight to the death of the fish begins. Fish stress reactions are maxed out at this time. Touching fish causes damage to the protective layer of the skin, or even the skin itself.

If the fisherman has not used plastic protectors on the tip of the hook, he will do more damage when pulling the hook out of the fish's mouth. After that the fisherman throws the fish into the water.

Research shows that 29 percent of fish caught in hooks die after being thrown into the water as a result of wounds sustained during resistance to being ejected. In the worst case, these wounds can become an infection. In addition, if the fisherman pulled the fish out of the depth of the water too quickly, the airbag of the fish will be torn. These fish die after suffering from many hours to days after being "released."

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