Catch and Release in IFSA comps

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Should Catch and Release be mandatory for all IFSA SAC's Comps

Yes
22
88%
No
3
12%
 
Total votes : 25

Catch and Release in IFSA comps

Postby Andy Elliott » Mon Aug 28, 2006 9:33 pm

I would be interested to hear from any members of IFSA SAC's regarding catch and release in club competiotions , both boat and shore

How many clubs now advocate this policy ?

Do you as members of IFSA think that such a policy should be mandatory ?


Andy Elliott
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Postby x » Mon Aug 28, 2006 10:39 pm

I personally think C&R is the way to go, but then it's a personal thing in so far as it's what I belive is 'right'. In the same breath, I'll fully support anglers taking one for the pot, though I'd hope they'd exercise a spot of common sense in which species they keep, and the size of those species, how endangered they are etc. I know I do.

I'd like to be fishing, and catching, in 40 years time. I'd like my kids to have the same option. That's why I practice C & R most of the time, plus I get a certain pleasure from returning a fish - I don't know why, but I do. Myself and Andy spent a good five minutes the last night herding the only fish we caught back into the surf. I'm sure Karma will have noted it and can only hope our reward for that simple act is out there in the future of angling.

I find it baffling, the silence from the clubs and governing bodies on any issue, much less C & R. Surely the powers that be in these bodies should be proactive in issues like this, rather than 'sit on the fence'? It's sad that they're not even reactionary.

An interesting point so far from the ongoing survey is that almost all the respondents are non club-affiliated anglers. What on earth is the story with that? All the affiliated people are incurring an extra expense in terms of membership fees etc, but are not voicing an opinion? WHY?

But, every person to their own. I'm not trying to ram my personal philosophy down anyone's throat. But I do feel that I'm acting in the best interests of angling as a sport, in the best interests of my fellow anglers, and in the best interests of the future.

I hope to God I've got it right....
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Postby Lee337 » Mon Aug 28, 2006 11:37 pm

I think that catch and release should be mandatory in any competition as have seen the number of fish that are wasted due to containment for a weigh in.

The club that i am in does not practice C & R for all it's competitions but I know for a fact that it is going to be proposed at the next A.G.M.

Fingers crossed that it goes through. If not then I will definately be considering my membership of the club.

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Postby Cooke » Tue Aug 29, 2006 12:20 am

Most if not all IFSA clubs in Leinster practice catch & release and have done for several years. All Leinster League competitions must be run as catch & release. Anglers still have the option of retaining fish if they want to for personal consumption but this is rarely done.

We started awarding points for dogs in the early 90's and it continued from there. I do remember fishing some inter club comprtitions a decade ago in the Shannon estuary and the vigilant stewards refusing to weigh garfish that were dead. These clubs were obviously ahead of their time in appreciating and preserving the local resource.
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Postby Andy Elliott » Tue Aug 29, 2006 4:58 am

Cooke wrote:Most if not all IFSA clubs in Leinster practice catch & release and have done for several years. All Leinster League competitions must be run as catch & release. Anglers still have the option of retaining fish if they want to for personal consumption but this is rarely done.

We started awarding points for dogs in the early 90's and it continued from there. I do remember fishing some inter club comprtitions a decade ago in the Shannon estuary and the vigilant stewards refusing to weigh garfish that were dead. These clubs were obviously ahead of their time in appreciating and preserving the local resource.






Thanks for that and good to hear.

The minority that do not, do they give any reason for retaining the fish ?

Do you yourself, being an IFSA official feel that C&R should be mandatory for all IFSA competitions?


I noticed there are 60 views on this thread, ten votes , and 4 comments, one being from my counterpart in the South ?

Is it Apathy or a fear of upsetting the equilibrium, if its not broke dont fix it etc ?






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Postby petekd » Tue Aug 29, 2006 8:47 am

Personally, I would be interested in hearing any possible explanation as to why competitions shouldnt be fished as C & R. The notion of the weigh in in this day and age is ridiculous. Especially given the fact that a lot of competitions are spent scratching around for small flats and doggies. Even the practice of only weighing in your heaviest fish involves keeping most fish you catch for a length of time alive in a bucket which Im sure is not too good for them.

I do understand however in boat competitions that there are circumstances whereby fish just do not go back too well after being hauled from the depths. In that situation, I think that the location of the marks fished needs to be looked at, there is no call to be fishing deep water wrecks etc when shallower reefs can produce the goods.

I support the right of every angler take a fish or two for the pot, after all, it saves them buying from the supermarket and supporting these f...ing trawlermen.
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Postby corbyeire » Tue Aug 29, 2006 11:49 am

have to agree with petekd there - i take the odd one for myself as i feel buying it encourages mass commercial fishing and all the negatives that entails

anyway your in a large supermarket and all the fish on display goes back into cold storage for tomorrow - that is not fresh fish - at least you know where it came from and that it is fresh etc.

when i release back i do get the karma satisfaction sandman was on about - and i think its a complete waste to have all those fish killed for a weigh in - but what do you do for a boat competition then etc.

100% from the shore and the option to take one for pot once weighed
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Postby stevecrow74 » Tue Aug 29, 2006 1:46 pm

corbyeire wrote: but what do you do for a boat competition then etc.


most boat comps that i been on or know about are either speices hunts(ticked off on a card) or measured/weighed on the spot and then released..
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Postby Donagh » Tue Aug 29, 2006 1:52 pm

As said their are very few competitions held that aren't c&r and every club needs to have a conservation statement to join the IFSA. The obvious exception are rovers in the likes of cork city where a pegged competition isn't always possible. Saying that on our roving comps we work out between ourselves where we'll fish between a few venues so we have a scale and someone with us.

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Postby Andy Elliott » Tue Aug 29, 2006 1:59 pm

stevecrow74 wrote:
corbyeire wrote: but what do you do for a boat competition then etc.


most boat comps that i been on or know about are either speices hunts(ticked off on a card) or measured/weighed on the spot and then released..


Steve youre a member of Galway Bay SAC
Are all the Comps C&R ?

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Postby corbyeire » Tue Aug 29, 2006 3:02 pm

i dont know much about the boat but doesnt it have to be measured on land if you want to claim it for a specimen? maybe im just opening another can of worms here... :?
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Postby Andy Elliott » Tue Aug 29, 2006 3:10 pm

corbyeire wrote:i dont know much about the boat but doesnt it have to be measured on land if you want to claim it for a specimen? maybe im just opening another can of worms here... :?


Watch this space :!:

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Last edited by Andy Elliott on Tue Aug 29, 2006 7:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby BigPhil » Tue Aug 29, 2006 6:38 pm

as far as i am concerned, in my honest opinion, i think that every club in the ifsa should HAVE to fish all competitions and outings , or opens etc under the catch , measure and release banner. both shore and boat.
there is no place anymore IMHO for fish to be kept for weigh ins on boat comps and then either sold on or dumped etc, as a federation we preach catch and release and conservation , only for this to be ruined by some clubs not using it.all clubs should have to use it to be affiliatted to the federation in my opinion.
there is nothing really in place but all being well something will happen about it before the year is out.
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Postby x » Tue Aug 29, 2006 6:58 pm

Maybe this is just me, but I fish for the joy of angling. I do like to catch, but it's not the end of the world if I don't always.

As far as records or honours go, I have no interest. (Ok, I'm going to kick Beach Fisher's ass in the winter comps. I'm really competitive like that. :lol: )

I'd much rather be forgotten as the guy who released a potential record breaker than remembered as the guy who killed the biggest specimen seen to date.

But then again, people fish for all sorts of reasons, and some do make a point of specimen hunting. Fair play to them, it takes a lot of skill, time, dedication and probably a lot of swearing (even if only inwardly) to make a success of it. Me, I got enough certificates at school to do me. They're all in a box somewhere, gathering dust. Being able to get them, not actually having them hanging on my wall, was the challenge. Degrees etc are only a sheet of paper at the end of the day.

I'd much rather have one fish swimming around, than the fanciest paper with the curliest writing.... :lol:

As far as matches go, probably all C&R would be best. If you want a fish for the pot, that's another excuse to go fishing another day.....
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Postby BigPhil » Wed Aug 30, 2006 12:23 am

i do believe that the specimen side of things needs to be reviewed somehow to fall into line with the catch and release trend
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Re: Catch and Release in IFSA comps

Postby kissafish » Wed Aug 30, 2006 1:08 am

What about roving comp's within clubs? Should they be banned?
Should we have pegged comp's only?
To be honest - - I try to keep my catch alive untill the weighin by changing / Topping up the salt water every 15 mins
My mate was so annoyed because he had the task of tryinig to keep 2 dogiges alive for 5 hrs.
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Re: Catch and Release in IFSA comps

Postby Andy Elliott » Wed Aug 30, 2006 1:16 am

kissafish wrote:What about roving comp's within clubs? Should they be banned?
Should we have pegged comp's only?
To be honest - - I try to keep my catch alive untill the weighin by changing / Topping up the salt water every 15 mins
My mate was so annoyed because he had the task of tryinig to keep 2 dogiges alive for 5 hrs.


I dont know if they should be banned or not , I suppose it depends on your perspective , whats more important to you ? dead fish and points or perhaps working out a way for the fish to be measured and released during the comp ?

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Postby Cooke » Wed Aug 30, 2006 8:58 am

The specimen claim issue is being reviewed - many anglers have been lobbing over the last few years to improve the procedures. Last year, the committee announced that claims from photographs (instead of presenting the body) would be considered. I have entered a claim this year for a mullet based on a photograph. The claim was rejected but not without detailing how I should present photos the next time around. In fairness, though I deemed the quality sufficient to identify the species. the scientists are more demanding of proof. The real value was that it showed that committee members are willing to work with anglers to refine the process. I had been lobbying the committee on and off for many years to amend the rules, some times to the point of exasperation ending with me dismissing the body. The current situation does prove that sensible people working together - without denouncing each other - can make steps to improve our sport.
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Postby Andy Elliott » Wed Aug 30, 2006 1:54 pm

Cooke wrote:The specimen claim issue is being reviewed - many anglers have been lobbing over the last few years to improve the procedures.


Brilliant news

Cooke wrote:Last year, the committee announced that claims from photographs (instead of presenting the body) would be considered. I have entered a claim this year for a mullet based on a photograph. The claim was rejected but not without detailing how I should present photos the next time around. .


I take it you do now,? and is this information freely available in the public domain?

Cooke wrote:In fairness, though I deemed the quality sufficient to identify the species. the scientists are more demanding of proof.


In what way ?


Cooke wrote:The real value was that it showed that committee members are willing to work with anglers to refine the process. I had been lobbying the committee on and off for many years to amend the rules, some times to the point of exasperation ending with me dismissing the body.



Well that certainly is good news and you are to be co-mended for your efforts


Cooke wrote:The current situation does prove that sensible people working together - without denouncing each other - can make steps to improve our sport.


Is that a broadside against me ? I'm not denouncing anybody I'm simply trying to find out peoples opinions. I'm also trying to collate data to present to government. That's all
You will notice I'm not using a pseudonym. I sign my posts with my real name, a lot of anglers in the North and a few in the South know me, know what I drive and quite a few know where I live.
I'm asking these questions on this board and others, because I'm not prepared to sit on the fence anymore and do nothing, while our oceans are destroyed.
The IFSA being the sports controlling body, in my opinion should lead by example. I also believe that hushed discussions behind closed doors serves no purpose. Bring it out into the public domain, and let people comment.
The title of this thread "Catch and Release in IFSA comps" and the poll is to gage people opinions. it has now been sidetracked into a discussion on the Irish Specimen Committee.

I replied to you previously in this thread with a few questions. perhaps you would care to answer them ?
Further too this, I also feel the silence from IFSA members in response to this thread is deafening . A few brave souls have commented, I'm sure there a hell of a lot more than that on this board
One person has voted no, of course they haven't posted why. But that's to be expected

I will talk to anybody about these issues. I'm open to criticism but i will not stand with my hands in my pockets and do nothing

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Postby petekd » Wed Aug 30, 2006 2:47 pm

Silence is deafening alright, 204 views, 17 replies and 17 votes. I think your main problem Andy is that an awful lot of people pay absolutely no heed to the conservation form, preferring instead the conversation forums elsewhere.....

I was guilty, and no offense intended to anyone incidentally, (I have a different attitude to fishing these days :D ) of in the past ignoring an awful lot of what people like yourself and Sandman had to say, dismissing it as "oh christ there off on another rant" or whatever. It wasnt that I didnt care about fish welfare, it was more to do with the fact that I was quite happy sitting on the fence, blissful in my ignorance as to what was actually happening out there. Content with the fact that I dont remember how it used to be so have nothing to compare it to and happy I had found a couple of spots that would produce a fish or two on most occasions. Content to let others take up the baton and fight my battles for me.

In particular over the last year or two, my attitude has changed. I no longer take every fish of reasonable size home for the pot, I no longer brutally unhook fish and toss them back and wonder why they are floating belly up, I no longer consistently fish venues such as Monkstown when all you are catching are bucketfulls of mini codling that might equate to 15 small ones to one of reasonable size. Every pollack or coalfish I catch on a boat no longer goes into the box at the skippers request, I no longer leave rubbish to blow away or tangles of line etc, and I no longer fish with people who are happy to do any of the above. I have this site and people like Sandman, JohnD, Glengormley Gavin, Coaster and yourself among others constantly getting in peoples faces about the conservation and environmental issues. Keep it up lads, its not falling on deaf ears, a constant barrage does eventually get through.

You know what, Mods permitting, move these threads to a higher profile forum such as the Q&A forum or whatever, it makes sense, the conservation forum is studiously ignored. Or maybe set up a forum for News, Views and other Issues where competition venues and results, general sticky threads on how different areas are fishing that we can all contribute to from time to time as opposed to a full blown report, conservation and environmental issues and the like can all be displayed and create a bit more traffic. It is just way too easy at the moment to bury your head in the sand and ignore this particular forum altogether. The fact of the matter is that no-one likes reading bad news but we all have to be educated.

I know that was way off topic and I apologise for that but I wanted to say my piece.
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