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A code of conduct for FF and C&R?

Eccles
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A code of conduct for FF and C&R?

Post by Eccles »

All,
I've tried this question in a number of different places (more parochial forums than Sexyloops - flattery hopefully gets me somewhere) without much enlightenment or engagement and so thought, though I haven't posted here for a long time, to try it on you lot.

The background is that I and another fly fishing biologist colleague are writing a paper on fishing, catch and release and ethics and need to get some structure into the manuscript.

Yes I know, groaning is often the response when ethics and fishing rears its head. But I would be very grateful if you could keep going reading and see if you can help me with some ideas.

I am curious about whether there is a kind of "sportsman's code" for angling and particularly for catch and release fly fishing. If there isn't a formal one I would be very grateful to hear what you lot think might make it onto the list. This is the way the ethics of hunting has been addressed previously and it looks a reasonable template for fishing. The point being that a 'code' developed by fisherman (as it has been by hunters) incorporates an internal view (rather than one legislated from outside) of how we see our sport and what is important about it.

For example, the sportsman's code, as far as I have seen it stated for hunting, goes something like this:

1. Safety first
2. Obey the law
3. Give Fair Chase
4. Harvest the Game
5. Aim for Quick Kills
6. Retrieve the wounded.

1. Really is about gun handling but a case could be made for it in fly fishing where control of the line and fly is needed to avoid injury to bystanders and practitioners alike. Maybe
2. Yes clearly.
3. A little more difficult to incorporate into C&R FF. Given it is rod and line angling one would already preclude the use of nets/poison/dynamite etc (their use would likely fall into 2 anyway and not be strictly C&R). It might raise the issue of matching appropriate strength tackle for the size of fish expected - no 1 weights for 3 pound trout for example.
4 - 6 don't seem to have a place in FF C&R though one might argue that 5 equates to playing fish hard so they can be landed, unhooked and released as soon as possible.

So I am very interested in what you would keep, throw out or add into a five - ten point list that would sum up a FF C&R code of practice. From elsewhere suggestions such as respecting other anglers and respecting the 'resource' have been prominent. In addition, I would like to hear if you feel there need not be a code for fishing; hunters may need one only because they are handling lethal weapons - though clearly there are a number of points in the above list that are not to do with that aspect.
Anyway...any help gratefully received,
cheers
Eccles
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Post by jomeder »

Hi Eccles,

Well I think it could be done like this:

1: Respect the fish

2: Respect others

3: Respect the environment

4: Respect the rules

To break it down, although I think it's pretty straightforward:

1) Don't tire fish needlessly (includes appropriate tackle), use a net which doesn't damage them, don't handle them needlessly, help them recover if need be, perhaps leave spawning fish alone, watch for redds during spawning etc. I know you're talking C&R but if you are going to take a fish then do it humanely.

2) Be aware and respectful of other people when you're fishing, which includes safety issues and other water users, as well as fishing etiquette (i.e. don't jump people etc.). I think it also means taking some care, operating within your abilities and not doing especially stupid things which may lead to search and rescue etc.

3) Don't litter, respect landowners requirements, leave gates as you find them, don't hassle stock, don't light fires when you shouldn't, don't drive where you shouldn't etc.

4) This is self explanatory. Follow the regs.

I know you're talking C&R but I don't see why you shouldn't follow the exact same set of ethics if you take fish, which is perfectly acceptable in some situations. In that case it's down to personal choice and regulations.

Does there need to be a code of ethics for fishing? I don't think so. It's not like a professional society or something where a code of ethics is essentially "the rules" for being part of that society and failure to follow them can lead to exclusion from that society.

The advantage of a code of ethics would be in education and as a point of discussion, maybe prompting people to think about the way they go about things.

Most if not all situations outside of the regs are covered by "Don't be a dick".

Regards,

Jo
Will
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Post by Will »

Nice list Jo. I totally agree that you can't just limit the list to C&R situations.

On Eccles' no.3 (Give fair chase) there is something in there about maintaining a sense of challenge.

Harps wrote a really nice FP on this and a brief discussion followed.

I think there is mileage in something like this for use when introducing people to fishing.

W.
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Eccles
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Post by Eccles »

Jo,
Thanks for having a go at this.

I agree that experienced anglers (as in most of those who participate on the board here) wouldn't feel the need to define a 'code'. Not being "a dick" is taken for granted. And you have it right that enumerating a code of ethics, in this case especially, is for establishing points of discussion (rather than a real, tablets of stone list). Writing on the ethics of angling can get very woolly unless there is a clearly defined discussion path to follow. I am trying to see whether the code is a good way of doing this. What you have written is good and certainly allows a number of entry points into the discussion.

Also agree that C&K could be incorporated. However, C&K can be discussed within the sort of code outlined for hunters in the first post (clean kill, harvest the game). C&R falls outside all other judgements and for many is the achilles heel of modern angling. How anglers establish an ethical code for C&R, what justifications they use for it (conservation is obviously one of the main ones) is fundamentally important in any discussion of its ethical place within angling and discussion of peoples interaction with other animals more generally.
cheers
Eccles
Eccles
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Post by Eccles »

Will,
Thanks for those links. The lists in the thread were interesting.
And what do you mean by "maintaining a sense of challenge"?
Ta
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Post by Paul Arden »

I think there is a code of ethics in NZ F&G but not for C&R. It would be an interesting list, Jo has much of it. Don't fish in high water temps would be another (for trout). Do UK coarse angles have such a code?

Cheers, Paul
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Paul Arden
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Post by Paul Arden »

And no barbs of course. But I think you're looking more for justification Eccles?
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Eccles
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Post by Eccles »

Paul,
Yes there seems to be a code of practice in the NZ F&G fishing booklet. But its not accessible online. I wonder if it was drawn up by fishermen or administrators. Anyone have it?
Eccles
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Post by Eccles »

Not so much justification as such, Paul. I am completely neutral on what goes into a 'code'.

Well that is not really true being an avid fisherman. But for the purposes of a manuscript it is about looking at the factors that anglers think should be in a ethical code of conduct and discussing it from there.
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Post by DBH »

Hi Eccles

My take on Fishing...C/R...Ethics


A small "harvest" for the table should be looked at as a positive thing... a justification.

It all comes back to letting an individual have some responsibility for their actions. Too many decisions in life have been taken away from the individual by "experts" who know nothing. If you did behave like "a Dick" expect more rules and regulations.

This is where it gets political! The antis would say putting a fish through the stress of capture just to release it is un ethical. So many people course fish/FF in the UK they know they would never get anywhere but see if we were a minority group...... watch out! they would be after us!

I think a code of practice is a great idea should be extended to all fishing not just FF aimed at new comers as a guide to the sport. containing it to 5 or six bullet points relevant to the type of fishing in question is the way to go. We have an ever increasing urban population respect for the countryside its rivers, fish and game needs to be a taught/pointed out/ documented IMO.

Good luck
D
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Post by Will »

Eccles wrote:Will,
Thanks for those links. The lists in the thread were interesting.
And what do you mean by "maintaining a sense of challenge"?
Ta
Eccles
Eccles

I think the reason we choose and rod and not a net/dynamite/poison/go to the supermarket or pet shop is about the challenge.

Sometimes it's the reason we choose fly rods and not bait. It's the reason some people like to fish tiny flies, or fish for big fish, or only fish for wild fish in difficult waters.

Any time it gets too easy you enter the foggy area that marks the border between sport and exploitation (Harp's FP sets this out really well). Your definition of "too easy" may be different from mine, and both will change over time.

For me minimising ecological impact and minimising damage and discomfort trump the others. And I really like Al's reference in the original discussion to "Rules 2, 3 & 4 apply unless contravening rule 1."

I think the only ethical reason for C&R is conservation, the rest is just aesthetics or convenience which, although they are pretty important drivers, are wholly subjective.

W.
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Paul Arden
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Post by Paul Arden »

Maybe you could also look at a broader role; ie to manage waters as a pristine environment. Manage fisheries as wild natural places as much as possible and so on. To share the water thoughtfully with other users. To fight abstraction, pollution, industrialisation and commercialisation.
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DBH
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Post by DBH »

Hi Paul

“Sharing water thoughtfully with other users” is not “fighting abstraction per se” In the UK (may be the EU as well?) every catchment has a CAMS (Catchment Abstraction Management Strategy) water is abstracted under strict license.

UK still has far too many avoidable pollution incidents

Agee worldwide there are many threats as you mention
D
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Post by Paul Arden »

I meant like kayakers :cool:
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Post by easterncaster »

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