Coarse fishing causes unnecessary suffering to fish, should it be banned?

Question

It really is pointless catching fish for fun not food.
Answers to this question that are abusive, contain grammatical errors (ie your instead of you're) or spelling mistakes will not be considered for the ten points

Answer 1

I agree. Though I find fishing quite fun and entertaining, I eat everything I catch (and what I don't eat, the other half devours).

I feel the same way about hunting game. People who are out for their "trophies" and discard all of the meat make me sick. There are plenty of people in this world that are dying because they're starving - it's just a waste of perfectly good meat.

And holy cow - you're more of a grammar Nazi than I am. I applaud you.

Answer 2

I actually run a small coarse fishing lake and feel there are a lot of misinformed people out there. Firstly a fish's mouth in general is a pretty bony type of tissue, much like a human fingernail. It doesn't bleed when it is hooked and this implies that there are no nerve endings as a normal blood supply would be required for these. Also a lot of species actively use their mouth to forage vigourously in the bottom of lakes and rivers, where there are stones and gravel. If their mouths were sensitive in this way then they would surely find foraging pretty painful. Most Coarse fisherman have a very healthy respect for the fish they catch, using barbless hooks only and unhooking the fish gently on unhooking mats to protect the scales on the fish. After they have weighed and photographed their fish they usually very carefully place the fish back into the water where it swims away quite happily. Some of these fish end up with nicknames and get caught maybe two or three times a year only. Something like a Carp will often live 50-60 years, so being caught can't be doing them too much harm or causing too much distress.

At least they do get to live for another day. How many people go fishing in the sea and bring back far more fish than they are ever going to eat, or be able to give away, often ending up dumping them in the bin having killed them for nothing!!!

Answer 3

This seems very naive!
Do you take into consideration that anglers of every niche, are often the most ardent protectors of the environment in which they apply their hobby, since they spend more time than anyone else by the waters and are the people who most often report signs of pollution etc.
With the growth in these sports, more man-made waters are being created, which are carefully planned to establish havens for many species of wildlife such as birds and insects, with the only price to nature being the occasional capture and photographing of fish. Perhaps you feel these areas would better benefit the environment if they were developed into shopping centres where 'friends of the earth' can buy fair trade goods and greenpeace cous-cous to feel smug in the knowledge that they are supporting the rainforest, while being ignorant to the decline of their more immediate environment.
Coarse anglers spend a lot of money on specialist equipment like hook disgorgers and unhooking mats to protect the fish from harm while releasing, so that it goes back into the water only a little tired for its experience.
Since the 'fish feel pain' debate has not yet been scientifically proven either way, I believe you're spouting off at the mouth on a subject of which you have very little actual knowledge.
Has this been concise enough for you?!

Answer 4

It is not the nature of what you hurt that is the issue. It is the hurting that is the issue.

If it is ok to cause unnecessary suffering to a fish and you say it is not ok to cause unnecessary suffering to a child, what is the basis for the difference? Is it attractiveness that gives us the right not to be unnecessarily hurt? Is it intelligence? Does that mean it's ok to torture people as long as they are ugly and/or stupid?

A few minutes objective thought tells us that the answer to the question asked has to be an unqualified yes, unless some very compelling argument (such as the absolute survival of a species where there is no other way to ensure its survival) can be adduced. I believe, however, that this is not the case.

Provided your premise is true (that coarse fishing causes unnecessary suffering) then yes, it should and must be banned.

Answer 5

Fishing is the number one sport in the United Kingdom, enjoyed by more people than football. Although I am not a fishing man and could never sit by a lake, stream, river or the sea waiting for a fish to bite, I shall defend with all my might the right of people to be free. Coercive moralism, not only by the state but by public opinion is not acceptable.
i.e. If one percent of the population require the need to fish for their freedom, then the other 99% should respect this right.

You're your own worst enemy putting pressure on people to be grammatically correct while you yourself misuse the abbreviation i.e.

Answer 6

This is a completely useless argument. Lets us assume that fish feel pain. Would anyone care in any way at all? Probably not.The shameless truth of it all is that humans are consumers. We take much more than we give. The majority of humans do not care! Our species has been doing this for thousands of years. Besides they are just fish. Millions are born and die every year. The pain of a single insignificant fish makes no difference to me. Until fish grow opposable thumbs and start to wield shotguns it will continue to happen. I am also pro peta/vegan hunting!

Answer 7

I myself am more the catch and eat kind of angler, but the reason Catch and Release has become so popular, is to preserve the species that are being caught more regularly (with the hopes of them growing to more trophy sizes).

There is nothing cruel about fishing at all. It is an awesome activity that has become a forgotten pasttime. I wish more young people could understand the value of this great hobby, and the awesome feeling of landing a lunker!

Answer 8

Actually, it's pretty much been proven fish do feel pain, and even if they don't- does it matter? There are plenty of people that for whatever reason or another can't feel pain, but that doesn't mean it's OK to abuse them. All those people going on about 'be quiet, it's a long standing pastime' seem to forget that so are many things they themselves frown upon, like drug taking (opium dens were very popular), smoking, big game hunting, and a plethora of other things. You can't apply the same philosophy for one thing and not to another thing.

Answer 9

Coarse fishing using barbless hooks causes a minimum of distress to fish. If protestors want to stop cruelty, they should go to farms where birds are kept in tiny cages and surgical operations such as castration of pigs etc are routinely carried out without anaesthetic.

Answer 10

It's not pointless to us humans. We are the domineering species in this planet and we look for, enjoy, and need hobbies that intrigue, inspire and relax us. Fishing is one of them.
Hurting fish is not a big deal. Hurting unborn babies is. Maybe you should focus elsewhere on more important things other than the pain of stupid fish.