All of you seem to be missing the crux of this problem. There is no question whether C&R has proven itself as a successful conservation measure. No debate. But the ethics are a problem. When we go to the river with the intent of releasing whatever we catch, the purpose of our hunt has been compromised. The fish are put at risk, they fight for their lives, purely for our entertainment. That is abusive, and mildly sadistic, as has been observed by many thoughtful anglers in recent years.
Fishing is hunting. We hunt and fish because we are hard-wired for it. It's who we are. As such, one of our jobs in society is to bring meat back to the village. If our hunt puts animals' lives at risk--which even C&R does-- it has to mean more than just sport. In my opinion, when the highest value for hunting is the sport of it, it has lost its foundation, and its relevance in a humane society.
C&R is a proven management tool, but a questionable ethic. Managers in today's fisheries rely on C&R to sustain wild fish populations. But each angler still has to sort through the ethics on his or her own. It pains me to hear anglers denying their impacts, denying the conflict inherent in sport fishing, and putting down people who question our motivations. We sound like a bunch of spoiled children, and we expose our fears. Deep down we anglers fear that non-anglers will finally see what we are up to, hauling around endangered species by their lips for a little adrenaline rush. And they'll put a stop to it. But rather than hiding behind fear and avarice, we anglers could wake up and be honest about the abusive nature of sport fishing. Feeding people is the reason we put animals lives and well being at risk in the first place. When a hunter gets tired of killing, he can take pictures. He puts himself in harms way for the mock hunt, but not the animal. And he sure as hell doesn't take the animal down in a head lock, get the grin-and-grab, then pat it on its ass and shew it away. What we do with fish should be renamed "fish wrestling."
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