I found this opinion piece quite thought provoking. On
reflection the one thought it does provoke is am not entirely sure if this chap
ever really enjoyed fishing!
I would certainly echo his sentiments regarding the
processing of marine fish to create pellets to feed to fish to be stocked into
freshwater. In plain terms it is simply unsustainable and for me it is the
primary, although certainly not the only, reason why I simply do not like the
notion of stocking trout.
I certainly agree with the comments regarding protecting
native fish and I still struggle to understand why it remains acceptable to
stock running water in the UK with non native rainbow trout.
The logic regarding stocking fish and catch and
release is pretty hazy at best. Although I accept that the risk of fish, either
stocked or native, mortality must be increased by catching and subsequent
release I have never seen any data that would confirm that ‘survival rates of
hatchery fish in the wild are very low, especially after hooking damage and
exhaustion associated with repeated catch-and-release encounters.’
Interestingly the author fails to provide any evidence to support this
statement. My personal feeling is that many fish stocked into rivers are never
caught simply because they soon get swept off downstream - imagine what benefit
could be wrought if all the money ‘invested’ every year into the purchase of
fish for stocking was ploughed instead into activities that are both durable
and tangible.
In my own personal Utopia there would be no stocking and the
habitat would support a healthy population of fish that can be fished for. Although
I am typically a catch and release angler in such a scenario I see no issue
whatsoever with any angler taking the occasional fish for the table.
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