Chances are, as a conservation-minded angler, you've caught and released fish. Probably reported that fact with a certain amount of smugness to your fishing buddies. Maybe a slot limit forced you to release the fish. But you've got the photos to prove your fishing prowess.
What happened to that dandy walleye or bass after you released it? It lived to fight another day, right? The truth is it probably died, an easy mark in its weakened state, of a predator fish. Or it simply died and washed up on shore. This is almost certainly the fate of your fish if you took more than 30 seconds to record your catch on a digital camera.
Consider these sobering numbers from a recent study in Canada. It looked at the survival rate of played out rainbow trout that were exposed to air for 60 seconds, 30 seconds and 0 seconds. The trout that were exhaustively exercised and not exposed to air survived at an 88% rate. Not exposed to air. That means they never left the water. The rate of survival for fish exposed to the air for 30 seconds dropped to 62%. And those held out of the water for 60 seconds had a mere 28% of living to fight another day.
Think about this analogy. You run full speed for half an hour and then someone immediately submerges you under water for a full minute. How are you feeling now? That's what you did to that last lunker you caught and photographed. A significant reduction of oxygen content in the fish's blood doomed it.
Whatever happened to catching enough fish for dinner and quitting for the day? If you need to prove your worthiness by catching and releasing thirty fish an outting maybe it's time to consider a truly competitive sport instead. Like tennis.
And fishing tournaments? Don't get me started!
