Huh what ? Release what we catch, then why we do fishing?

Catch & Release is effective and easy fish conservation, whatever species of fish you catch, and releasing them is a great way of helping to preserve the sport for others. "Others?" might be you on a different day, or it could be you when you catch the progeny of a fish you released, more importantly it could be someone very dear to you that benefits from your action, that gets the thrill and gains the experience. Isn't that a nice thought?

I know we all ANGLERS are not after meat!!! NO we are not meat gatherers …

"Those who are fishing for meat are NOT anglers and should join fishing fleets instead" we spend thousands of rupees on this sport, I know many anglers those who can not afford but they spends loads of money buying these expensive fishing tackles etc, u know why? Off course not for meat but yes for the fun we have while angling.

Than why we are fishing?
It's a great pastime as well as a tradition passed down from grandparents, I use to fish with my father in fresh waters, together we learned about patience, relaxing, and how to enjoy nature, even if you catch only smiles, it's worth the time it takes to cast a line into a nearby waters.

So keep as much as required and 5 fishes a trip is more then enough I guess?

There is fabulous fishing at Churna, Khada, wreck, etc fishing spots we have and after meeting with many great anglers, it's strange to me that we have very few who do catch and release practice? This is not a coincidence it is a clear illustration of how fish survive to grow bigger, older and wiser, given the chance and especially for fresh water fishing these large fish are precious spawning stock, Removing them from the system has an enormous impact on the fecundity of the system, we have examples of how our lakes, rivers live stock vanished in just few 6/8 years! (Eg; Halay Jheel, Breakwaters, Churna Island) Which means significantly less fish for the future, the success of catch and release is doubted by some individuals who fear that returned fish will not survive or who use that seed of doubt as an excuse to continue killing more and more fishes. Others consider that angling without killing is immoral and object to it. I see nothing immoral in protecting and enjoying the sport and continuing to support the sea and its people.

If angling for Tuna, Marlins etc. is to survive forever here in Pakistan, we must concentrate on conservation and at least we "Anglers" must embrace conservation, once we start doing this we can then must also unite and convince politicians that wild fish are worth saving and can point to others who are harming our wild fishes,

"Leading by example is a strong signal" Take home a picture instead of a carcass, pin it up in your office desk with a smileJ, post some at forum, tell your friends how you helped to save fish BELIVE ME I have tried this, They will listen appreciate and respect you all the more for caring for the future and you can imagine the feelings and satisfaction you can have at that time.

So if there is a will, there is a way…

Lets join and do some thing for this cause, I don't have any single reason not to release a fish once we landed enough as per defined in rules by PGFA | The Pakistan Game Fish Association, we need to follow our bag limit.

Man has always been able to catch fish by more efficient means than rod and line, but has discarded these methods because of the enjoyment that angling gives, we have to use appropriate lines, rods etc. to have maximum enjoying of fight with fish and at the end this is all we are after not the poor SMALL fishes at other end so in short.

"TO ME THE FISHING THAT 99% OF ANGLERS DOING HERE IN PAKISTAN IS NOT THE ETHICAL WAY OF FISHING"

"Be not ashamed of mistakes and thus make them crimes", Lets stop the crime/massacre and think on it, before we go too far.

Surely by simply writing/reading this article we can’t achieve what we are talking here, it is now the turn of anglers to cooperate with the fish, to help them to survive so that our future generations may share the wonderful experiences that wild fish bring.


Good Fishing,
Ali Saeed