jeffcpr wrote:I am with MASSfisher C&R your fish and do it the right way, and a second point to push, keep our water clean. It is a good practice to pick up some trash each time you are out there. Maybe I cannot fix it by myself but if I do it each time I go out and you do it each time you go out and so on and so on we can make a difference. Maybe not the best answer to your question but I just woke up let me think some more and I will try to come up with a few more.
Recently, I was surf fishing, and saw a family was out there fishing with 8 long rods. I saw him pull in a small batray, and put it in a cooler. My son asked why they are keeping that baby batray. What could I say? I'm not opposed to people eating what they catch, but I would like to see more C&R. Also, my son knows that we pick up at least a few pieces of trash around our area before we head back. My bro is super-liberal, and used to ask why we fish, and how he wasn't crazy about the idea of yanking a living animal out of it's home environment with sharp hook in the lips. He went with us once, and saw my son catch a perch, and how carefully he treated the fish, and released it. And my bro helped us pick up some trash around the area.. he doesn't mention much about how "bad" fishing is anymore.
What else?
Ok.. less touchy-feeley... I'd like more & harsher DFG enforcement. Especially people who are unlicensed, and the so-called "bucketeers". I don't mean to be a prick to a man trying to feed his family.. but get a license and don't take illegal/undersized fish!
Also, more REAL scientific study as to what is truly impacting our natural resources. I suspect that the licensed, majority, of sport fishermen off our shores and float tubes and kayaks, mostly do C&R and have ZERO bad impact on our fish populations. Misguided legislation and protections of certain natural predators (sea lions) probably have more to do with population imbalances that truly impact the fish population.
More fishing programs to teach kids about our natural resounces, especially oceans and lakes, and get the hooked (pun intended) on fishing.