To eat or not to eat

[William.Coppin]

I am just getting back into fishing and am mindful, as much as I like to eat the things, that there are some conservation issues.

Are there some guidelines as to what will be good, legal and moral to eat and what to photograph and release (the photo's important or t'other half doesn't believe I have actually gone fishing!)

My signature states I am a self proclaimed FSA Fishing Sailing Activist but I don't want the active part to mean the fish stocks go down even more.

I gather it is OK to catch some big fat mackerel for breakfast or a six pound bass for dinner but what about during breeding season for that same Bass? or how can I tell if a smooth hound is pregnant etc?

William

[lazy hooker]

its something i too struggle with...well ok not to much.
is it crueler to fish, knock it on the head and eat it....or to fish unhook and return...the later suggests that you inflicting stress and injury to an animal just for your own enjoyment.


bass don't tend to spawn inshore so no issue there.

smoothhounds pup in may-june...you'll know when as they get a right fat belly on them and generally release them while being unhooked...

if its above the size limit for your area and you fancy eating it, then that is upto you...but to kill it and not consume it that is terrible and what getts right on my nerves..

john

[scottish_and_mental]

mackerel - eat what you like - smoothies pup or not , release back - bass - erm, i never understood the lure of a fish over 2 lb so keep the table sized juvenile fish and leave the breeding fish alone

I eat fish atleast once a week and keep cod,whiting,bass,bream,mackerel and pollack.. stocking the frezer with fish is totally pointless unless you only fish once a year or you want mackerel for bait .
Im sick to death of seeing 50lb eels lying in fish boxes on boats and a dozen dogfish on chesil beach a day after being caught ..
Photographs will last a lifetime - a cod fillet lasts me about 5 minutes

welcome along btw

[barbelblanker]

Within the bounds of legality (though I agree it makes little sense to take a mature breeding fish and not take a smaller immature fish) and as long as you are going to eat/use them then I don't see a problem. Don't take silver eels (freshwater migrating) as I think this is now illegal.

Outside of that, if you are going to honour the fishstocks by using the fish properly then I don't see a problem.

Personally I think us sports anglers are a mere pin prick compared to real issues of overfishing commercially and returning out of quota/size fish dead from the nets.

[sole man]

personally you should eat what you whant i return 90% of all my fish and take what i need its up to you its your hunter gatherers right to do so .

[NICK R]

I just take enough for the table
what pisses me off is all these fish in matches that are left in buckets during the match to be found dead at weigh in .
Whiting
I take most of these as the feckers only die on release
Bass overrated tastes like shit (far better fish to eat )
Why o why do these furkin holiday makers catch 100,s of mackerel place them in bin bags and then leave in their cars all day ,Then decide to tip them away as they have gone ,

Only take what you can eat

[John Marshall]

Originally Posted by barbelblanker

Personally I think us sports anglers are a mere pin prick compared to real issues of overfishing commercially and returning out of quota/size fish dead from the nets.

Totally agree,
Any fish I take is for the table.

[William.Coppin]

I tend to agree with all of the above! Thanks everyone for your replies.

My mother used to say to me in her sterner moments... William, William James Coppin, just because you can see it doesn't mean that you can eat it! It was her way of saying don't have eyes bigger than your belly. Or I guess bigger than your freezer even in this case.

I like the idea of releasing the breeding fish back with a photo first and eating the smaller ones bass in particular which will fit nicely on a plate!

What I was ideally after in all this was a sort of summary chart or list about what fish would be breeding when and if they could be avoided to do so.

Come to think of it I don't even know where to get a good up to date legal fish size chart ...?

The abuse fish stocks take I do agree is mainly due to daft quotas on commercial operations. But I do like to think that every little helps then I can complain more loudly about the big offenders.

William