Thread: Depth trauma and survival rates.

Not only snapper but Blue Cod, they are very vulnerable to handling and I personally believe we are killing more fish with the increase in the size limit from 30 -33cm , the amount of 31-32 cm fish being handled and returned has increased significantly over the last 3 years by my own standards, and as a diver I have seen first hand numerous cod returned "fit and well " dead or dieing on the seabed.

I personally believe we should take a feed and move on...catch and release fishing is a falsehood / feel good fairy tale. We expose fish to high levels of stress , fatuge and depth change as well as handling oxygen starvation etc..better to bin the first few and leave the rest than damage a number of fish ...

Only my personal view ..very much each to there own enjoyment!

Originally Posted by stingray

I personally believe we should take a feed and move on...catch and release fishing is a falsehood / feel good fairy tale. We expose fish to high levels of stress , fatuge and depth change as well as handling oxygen starvation etc..better to bin the first few and leave the rest than damage a number of fish ...

Totally agree. I used to do a lot of catch and release. I now think that was the wrong thing to do based on various experiences and reading around the subject. It’s not easy to admit you’re wrong and change what you do, but sadly, I think I just created a lot of shark food.