Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Catch and release

Fish A to Fish B : “I am off to Norway”
B: "Why do you want to go all the way to Norway?”
A: “Because it is illegal to catch and release a fish in Norway”
B: “Who would want to do such a thing?”


A: “In which water world are you living in? The humans have developed a sport where they do fishing just for the fun of it and then release the fish back into the water”
B: “Oh at least we will be alive after they have had their fun”
A: “Don’t be stupid. Do you know the trauma and agony that a fish undergoes once that hook gets into our mouth? Last week my friend (let us call him Nemo) got hooked by a guy who thought he would have some fun by engaging in this ‘catch and release’ sport. 
The minute Nemo got hooked, he started wriggling and pulling against the fishing line, by which the hook got embedded deep into his jaw. This guy (let us call him Mr X) found it difficult to haul up Nemo and asked two passers-by for help. One of the guys helped Mr X to haul up Nemo with the net.


Mr X was very happy with his catch and kept saying “he is a big one”


He then proceeded to remove the hook from Nemo’s mouth. Not an easy task but he had a curved artery forceps by which he did it, not realising how it tore a part of Nemo’s jaws.



Mr X wanted a picture to be clicked (with his phone camera) holding his trophy.


He later insisted that the passer-by should also hold the fish and have a picture clicked.


All this while, time was ticking away and Nemo was gasping for breath.
Meanwhile the passer-by said “so you will be having fish on your table tonight” to which Mr X replied “No no back in the water, I just fish for fun”

Saying that he released Nemo back into the water.


The passer-by did not say anything but he had a last look at all the tell-tale signs, the artery forceps, the fishing rod, the net.


Later the passer-by told his friend “I don’t understand this concept of ‘fishing for fun’ He looked at the water and said “hope the fish was not injured”


Fish B: “Yes I hope Nemo did not suffer much”

Fish A: “Oh no. On the contrary Nemo had to nurse a badly bruised jaw and his immune system too came down with Mr X holding that cloth against its scales. I used to meet Nemo daily but have not seen him for some days, hope he is safe somewhere”

Fish B : “That is not good news. May be, we should seriously think of making it to Norway”

Fish A : “I too think so. Meanwhile if the humans had a look at this picture (click here), they would understand what Nemo had to undergo.”

38 comments:

Anonymous said...

A good story with an important message. - Charles

Unknown said...

Such a brutal way of treating other life. Maybe someone should play 'catch and release' with Mr X instead!

Julia Thorley said...

Powerful stuff. I've often thought that this can't be good for the fish.

Ana Mínguez Corella said...

Thanks for comment.. Regards from Spain..

Couture Carrie said...

Cute post!
Love fishing!

xoxox,
CC

Deb J. in Utah said...

Thanks for visiting my blog! I enjoyed seeing yours. Interesting post about fishing - My family is not into fishing and I had not really thought about many of these things before. Hope you have a good week!

trees said...

Thank you for writing this. Always thought any hunting/fishing for sport was wrong.

Linda said...

Thanks for visiting..I liked your story. Great analogies. Blessings

Pura Vida said...

A very fun post!

Misty said...

Thanks for making comment at my blog. :) I don't like fishing any more than I like when people hunt animals. Fishing is painful for the poor fish and I am glad you wrote this little article. :) I bet the fish thank you. Interesting blog you have.

Anonymous said...

What a horrible sport - hurting and then releasing! Reminded me of seeing a bull fight in Spain! Same type of cruelty of hurting the animal until it bleeds and flies into a rage and 4-5 toreadors trying to over power a hurt raging bull!!! - Vijayalakshmi Menon

NatureFootstep said...

crap, are people out of their minds?

Shelly said...

I feel the very same way about that kind of fishing. It's cruel and unnecessary. Well written!

June said...

That's a really nice story. And the worst kind of entertainment possible. I never knew this existed. Its so sadistic
Keep in touch
xx
www.JuneWantsItAll.com

Unknown said...

Nice story Joe...simple and lucid language...

Anonymous said...

Enjoyed reading the fish story. This type of entertainment has chances to hit the fish!

Unknown said...

Very interesting Joe. This blog asserts that we humans must be the most selfish and cruel of God's creations.

Dział Przyrody MŚO said...

Wow, it's a very big fish!
Thanks for your visit and comment!
Have a nice day :-)
Greetings from Poland

Dee said...

DEar Haddock, this story was an eye-opener for me. I've never realized just how the fish must suffer. My brother fishes and then releases his catch. He's a gentle man and I need to ask him about this. Peace.

Red Handed said...

why would anyone do thaat!!1 CATCH AND RELEASE??? EAT IT...but don't leave it back totally hurt...

A Cuban In London said...

Wow, thanks for this, mate. I was completely unaware of this situation.

Greetings from London.

Lowell said...

Catch and release is very popular down here. In fact, all of the ponds in Stone Creek (a 55+ community where we used to live) were catch and release. You wouldn't want to eat those pesticide-infested fish anyway! :)

Draffin Bears said...

Interesting post and thanks for sharing - it certainly would make people think more of fishing and then releasing, as I have heard people do that over here in NZ. Thanks for visiting me.

Carolyn

Anonymous said...

Hi Joe,
Thanks for the message. Personally, I am all for Catch & Eat :-)
These days in India most rivers are getting the dynamite treatment. The fishermen are taking the easy way and killing all the fish. No thought about sustainability – just greed. Valsad has two rivers – one on each side of the town and both of these rivers used to have great fishing. But now you go a whole day and don’t even get a single bite. I do still enjoy the nature and the peace and quiet by the riverside. (Except when the dynamite goes off! :-( ) Another big problem is the chemical factories in Vapi – disposing their effluent into the rivers. The river there is red in colour – no chance for any fish to survive. But the river then takes these chemicals into the Sea and the pollution spreads. - Sajjad Nazir Ahmed Maniar

Anonymous said...

Very good and informative.
Thank you.
- Daniela Narijauskiene

Roan said...

Poor fish!

Ze' Incarnate said...

Wonderfully articulated Mr Joe :-)

Suburban Girl said...

Well done.

Anonymous said...

Hi Joe,

Thanks very much for sharing. It's a great piece!
Kind regards,
The Cruelty Free International team

Unknown said...

Very nicely said. It is a good thing I do not go fishing. It would be horrible to make an animal suffer for no reason.

Anita said...

Very well written and definitely, thought provoking.

I used to wonder how fish felt after being hooked. Everyone feels good to let the fish "go" but, yes, are they severely injured? I clicked over the link. Ugh.

Unknown said...

Superbly written! I did not even know there was a sport like this. Bet the people releasing their catch must be feeling that they're so kind and generous in not killing the fish, little realising the trauma it is going through. An eye-opener for me, and hopefully a lot more people ....

Anonymous said...

This is disgusting. It is horrific how badly people treat animals in some places and don't even give a thought to the agony that the poor creature goes through.
Good post - Mathew W. Weaver

River said...

I've never understood people who catch and release. I'm not a fisherman, but even I know that hooks hurt and tear and fish have trouble breathing out of water. Too many die when put back in the water, from injuries or shock. do they not realise the torture they are doing? What about a fish with an injured mouth? How is he supposed to eat?
This is one of the worst "sports" there is.

Anita Sabat said...

We think of our enjoyment, our food, our life... Your story tells the fish's story. Hope this 'fun' isn't at anyone's expense...

Swarnali said...

This is really cruel. If you caught the fish, honour it and eat it and not leave it into the water all torn only to leave it to a slow and painful death. Very well written :)
BTW how does Nemo turn from a "she" to a "he" ? :P

Haddock said...

Oops.... did not notice that Swarnali. Correcting it right away. Thanks for that :-)

Preeti said...

Oh this is so shameful of us humans! Never knew such a 'sport' existed.

Now I feel guilty going to Norway. *Beautifully narrated