Future of Fishing Threatened by PETA Propaganda

Okay, ladies and gentlemen, the article below (For Cod’s Sake Stop Fishing) provides a perfect example of the irrational and false arguments against recreational fishing that we must confront and dispel. Written by a PETA “senior writer,” it appeared, unchallenged, in The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead on June 8.

No doubt the organization managed to get it inserted in other media as well.

Particularly note the second paragraph, which alleges that fish can feel pain and fear and “these facts are no longer in question.”

But none of the “facts” cited are supported by credible fisheries scientists.

Here’s the truth:

“When a fish is hooked by an angler, it typically responds with rapid swimming behavior that appears to be a flight response,” says Dr. James Rose, who has spent more than 30 years studying neurological responses  to pain in animals. “Human observers sometimes interpret this flight response to be a reaction to pain, as if the fish was capable of the same kind of pain experience as a human.”

But fish “don’t have the brain systems necessary to experience pain,” he says, adding that “flight responses of fish are a general reaction to many types of potentially threatening stimuli and can’t be taken to represent a response to pain.”

Someone did respond (Anti-Fishing Column Nonsense). But even though the writer did defend fishing for food, she bought into the argument that fish feel pain and fear.

That’s what is insidious and dangerous.  If these zealots can convince enough people that fishing for sport is wrong, they will be well on their way to banning fishing entirely. They've already achieved a ban on catch-and-release fishing in parts of Europe.

I write about this threat and others  in “No Fishing?,” an essay in my new book, Why We Fish.

The threat is very real, my friends. Please don't ignore it.

For cod’s sake stop fishing

Earlier this month, a German angler made headlines for reeling in a 103-pound cod off the coast of Norway. The fish is believed to be the largest cod ever caught anywhere in the world, and if confirmed, the catch will break the existing record, which was set back in 1969. As I looked at the obligatory photos of the grinning angler with his “prize” and giving the “thumbs-up,” my first thought wasn’t, “Atta, boy!” but “How disconnected does a person have to be to take pleasure in killing other living beings – any other living beings?”

Here are two things that anglers should know about their supposedly “harmless” pastime: Fish can feel pain, and they can experience fear. These facts are no longer in question.

Even though fish don’t scream audibly when they are impaled on hooks, their behavior offers evidence of their suffering. When biologist Victoria Braithwaite and her colleagues exposed fish to irritating chemicals, the animals behaved as any of us might: They lost their appetite, their gills beat faster, and they rubbed the affected area of their bodies against the side of the tank.

A study in the journal Applied Animal Behavior Science found that fish who are exposed to painful heat later show signs of fear and wariness – suggesting that they both experience pain and remember it.

Other studies have shown that fish communicate distress when nets are dipped into their tanks or they are otherwise threatened. Researcher William Tavolga, for example, found that not only do fish grunt when they receive an electric shock, they also begin to grunt as soon as they see the electrode, in anticipation of the painful experience to follow.

Researchers at the University of Guelph in Canada concluded that fish feel fear when they are chased and that their behavior is more than simply a reflex. The “fish are frightened and … they prefer not being frightened,” says Dr. Ian Duncan, who headed the study.

Now think about what all this means. Try to put yourself in the fish’s place. When fish are impaled on an angler’s hook and yanked out of the water, panicking and gasping for breath, they aren’t having a good time. It’s not a game to them. They are scared and in pain and fighting for their lives.

Anglers may not want to hear this, but fishing is nothing more than a cruel blood sport, and killing animals for pleasure – just so that someone can set a world record or pose for a silly photo with a corpse – is inexcusable. It’s time to stop pretending that it’s “good, clean fun” to engage in an activity in which most of the participants aren’t even participating willingly but are, instead, desperately struggling in vain to stay alive.

Moore is a senior writer for the PETA Foundation.

Anti-fishing column nonsense

As an avid fisherwoman married to an avid fisherman and mother to two avid fisher-boys, I just had to write my first-ever letter in response to the Paula Moore opinion column in the June 1 Forum.

If I understand correctly, we are not supposed to fish because it hurts the fishies. I do not discredit the facts presented but, honestly, why someone would test fish for pain tolerance leaves me scratching my head. And I see Moore did not bring the smack-down on those “researchers.” But what of those of us who fish to eat? Are we now required to not fish to eat because it hurts the fish? And is the next step worrying about the feelings of the cows and chickens and pigs?

Good grief. Has she not heard of the circle of life? If we are now supposed to worry about the feelings of fish, then it is nothing but downhill from here – to the dock, to the lake, to the boat to fish.

 Activist Angler Store

The Reel Truth About Catch of Giant Catfish

This wels catfish was caught on the Neckar River in Germany. Photo by Peter Merkel

As with any angling addict, I watch most every television program that relates to fishing. That includes Jeremy Wade’s River Monsters on the Animal Planet channel.

His over-the-top dramatization of stories about and encounters with “killer” fish drive me crazy, but still I watch. Seeing the people, the places, and the fish featured are worth enduring a little mental anguish, I guess.

But now it seems that the Brit’s yellow journalism --- for which his countrymen are so famous--- is infecting other outdoor media, perhaps because of his success.

Here’s what I mean: “U.K. Angler Dragged into Lake by Giant Catfish.”

That headline appears in Outdoor Hub’s June 18 Fishing News.

Makes you want to read the story, huh?

But that’s not what happened. 

Now, I like the Outdoor Hub. I read its stories often. But it misled its readers with this one.

What happened is that the angler waded into the lake to battle the 108-pound wels catfish and lost his balance a couple of times.

What he accomplished was remarkable in and of itself. His tale needed no embellishment.

He was fishing for carp with 8-pound line and a spinning rod, when the big fish struck. He fought it for two hours, wading into the water to get as close as he could to the catfish to relieve stress on his line and tackle.

And now a shameless plug:

I did much the same thing to catch a tarpon from a Costa Rica beach, while fishing for snook with light tackle. I recount that battle in an essay entitled “You Just Never Know,” which is part of my new book, Why We Fish--- Reel Wisdom from Real Fishermen.

Go here to learn more about the book, including the names of others who contributed.

Good News on the Carp Front; Bad News About Zebra Mussels

There’s good news and bad news on the invasive species front.

Let’s start with the good, since that so rarely happens:

During a Great Lakes governors’ summit, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn voiced support for separating the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River basins as a way to keep Asian carp and other invasive species from migrating into the lakes.

“Ultimately, I think we have to separate the basins,” the governor said. “I really feel that is the ultimate solution. We have to do it.”

Quinn’s defection from the side that opposes separation, supported by commercial navigation interests, could be a tipping point toward a real solution that would save the $7.5 billion fishing industry --- unless the carp already have moved past the electric barriers. 

Almost certainly bighead and silver will not show up immediately after they enter the Great Lakes. We won’t see one here and another there. Suddenly, they just will be there in substantial numbers --- as happened with snakeheads in the Potomac River.

It’s important to remember too that these two basins were connected by man, not nature. The connection was made so that Chicago’s sewage would flow downstream, instead of contaminating its Lake Michigan water supply. Commercial navigation on the waterway developed from there.

Meanwhile, the Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper says this in an editorial:

“Illinois political leaders, such as Quinn and former Sen. Barack Obama, have a long history of kowtowing to Chicago shipping industry cronies who oppose the surest strategy for preventing these gilled gluttons from laying waste a precious liquid asset that floats a $7.5 billion fishing industry and 800,000 jobs .

“It was Quinn who inked a deal with a Chinese meat processing plant and an Illinois fishing operation in 2010 under a "if you can't beat 'em, eat 'em" initiative that has sent more than 700 tons of the piscine palate pleasers to Asia.

“But hydrological separation remains the only true solution. Now that Quinn's on board, maybe President Obama could join him in putting the public good over political expediency.”

 *    *   *

The bad news is that zebra mussels have been found in northern Minnesota, in a lake that connects to Rainy River. That could allow them entrance into massive Lake of the Woods.

The CBC reports that an aquatic invasive species outreach liaison with the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters said if zebra mussels migrate to Lake of the Woods, their habit of straining out plankton could be disastrous to the sport fishery there.

“If you take out the energy in the bottom of the food chain, as you move up the food chain, there will be less energy for your walleye or lake trout,” Matt Smith said.

Is This Photo Evidence of George Perry's Record Bass?

The world-record largemouth bass that George Perry caught 81 years ago this month almost certainly wouldn’t qualify today. But back then, all he did was measure it at a Helena, Ga., grocery store and weigh it at the post office before submitting it in a Field & Stream fishing contest. No photo was required.

The 22-pound, 4-ounce fish, meanwhile, provided food for the Perry family.

But in 2006, a photo was found of a man holding a big bass, seemingly in front of the Helena post office. The man is not Perry, but many believe the bass is the one that he caught on June 2, 1932.

Now, a second photo has surfaced, and this one appears to be Perry holding the bass. It was found in a Florida barn, according to a relative of Jack Page, who fished with Perry on the day that he made his record catch.

Is this Perry’s record bass, or just another large fish that he caught? The mouth and head certainly seem gigantic, but the photo was taken at an angle that emphasizes them.

Go to the Outdoor Hub to see what Perry’s biographer, Bill Baab, has to say.

That’s the photo above this article. Remember, the bass was supposed to weigh 22 pounds, 4 ounces. Below are photos of two 13-pound bass. 

I was with Dave Burkhardt, owner of Trik Fish fishing line, when he caught the 13-8 on a crankbait at Mexico's Lake El Salto. It was so fat the it mostly just waddled to the boat, putting up little resistance.

But that's not to say that all double-digit bass don't fight. My first, weighing 12-4, put on a spectacular aerial display, despite my best efforts to keep its head down. 

Dave Burkhardt with a 13-8 largemouth caught at Mexico's Lake El Salto.

Bruce Holt of G.Loomis caught this 13-5 at El Salto.