fishing...
- Thread starter R1D2
- Start date
I once was so into fishing when I was younger. It evolved into fly fishing and I became pretty good at it. Somewhere along the line I started feeling sympathy for the fish--bending back the barbs on the hooks and throwing the fish back. I eventually gave it up. I developed an idea that since I was not starving, there was no rational excuse to kill. not even trout.
Thoreau
Valued Senior Member
Funny that this conversation was brought up. I was just thinking, a few weeks ago, about what is the most ethical way to kill a fish that you've caught.
As an angler, I don't see the problem with fishing for food. But I do take issue with those who just fish for sport with no intention of eating their catch.
I was reading somewhere that fish do in fact sense pain and fear much like we do, though certainly not on the same levels. Furthermore, people that do C&R (Catch and Release) often don't realize that the fish they've caught only have about a 60% chance of living past the next 5 days due to infection which can be caused by the injury of the hook. And I know that I sure wouldn't want to die like that.
Another issue with C&R fishing is that it is quite common for the hook to go further down into the fish than the mouth, piecing and ripping its organs. Yet people still just throw the fish back to suffer and die. I don't get that. It's just too callous for me.
As far as how to (most) humanely kill a fish for eating, there seems to be a split in opinion. Some seem to think that cutting its main arteries where the gills attach and then snapping its neck backward is humane. I personally don't like that. Some think that throwing it on ice is the best way, thus letting it essentially suffocate and/or freeze to death. That's not my style either. I personally prefer the stunning method. If you hit it on its head between its eyes, it kills them instantly. Then bleed it afterward to preserve the meat.
As an angler, I don't see the problem with fishing for food. But I do take issue with those who just fish for sport with no intention of eating their catch.
I was reading somewhere that fish do in fact sense pain and fear much like we do, though certainly not on the same levels. Furthermore, people that do C&R (Catch and Release) often don't realize that the fish they've caught only have about a 60% chance of living past the next 5 days due to infection which can be caused by the injury of the hook. And I know that I sure wouldn't want to die like that.
Another issue with C&R fishing is that it is quite common for the hook to go further down into the fish than the mouth, piecing and ripping its organs. Yet people still just throw the fish back to suffer and die. I don't get that. It's just too callous for me.
As far as how to (most) humanely kill a fish for eating, there seems to be a split in opinion. Some seem to think that cutting its main arteries where the gills attach and then snapping its neck backward is humane. I personally don't like that. Some think that throwing it on ice is the best way, thus letting it essentially suffocate and/or freeze to death. That's not my style either. I personally prefer the stunning method. If you hit it on its head between its eyes, it kills them instantly. Then bleed it afterward to preserve the meat.
my husband and daughter put them in water with a pump (for oxygen circulation) when they are on the boat. When fishing from land, they put them in a bucket of water. When he gets them home, he cuts their heads off. He tries to keep them alive as long as possible for freshness, not to spare them suffering.
Interesting post Dr. Thoreau. And I like yours as well Miss O.
I have a stringer to put the fish on then I may put them in a bucket. I have done C&R. Didn't know C&R was a bad thing.
And when I clean them I don't have a method of death for them. But when cleaned I store them in the freezer for future cooking. I do have a scar from a cat fish. And I hate them fish. Good eating though. Some fish I have caught I have seen the hooks still in them where they broke a line I guess.
I have a stringer to put the fish on then I may put them in a bucket. I have done C&R. Didn't know C&R was a bad thing.
And when I clean them I don't have a method of death for them. But when cleaned I store them in the freezer for future cooking. I do have a scar from a cat fish. And I hate them fish. Good eating though. Some fish I have caught I have seen the hooks still in them where they broke a line I guess.
I never done spear fishing.