CNR or CNK... that is the question...

CNR - Catch and Release
CNK - Catch and Keep Jeevan's and Saras's response to my earlier post instigated me to blog this.
When it comes to angling, this has been a well debated topic. CNR to what extend? Will the fish actually survive after being released? Are we doing more harm to the fish? etc. And if you CNK, will yo deplete the fish reserves in the waters, are you depriving the coming generations from fishing?

Basically amongst anglers around the world, CNK depends on certain issues like whether the fish caught is worth consuming, are we keeping a rare, or endangered species, is the caught fish actually going to do any good to us; Certain species like the cobia are pairing fish (meaning that they have a mate that it swims together). If you take one home, you deprive the other of its mate. So CNR is practiced.

But do fish actually survive after CNR? Experts say that their chance of survival is anything between 1% to 60%. It depends on many factors, like where the fish is hooked, what type of fish, what kind of hook, and how you have handled the fish after catching them. Whether fish feel pain at all, is another highly debated topic, and Dr. James Rose, an expert in fish neurobiology at the University of Wyoming has constantly said that fish don't have the brains to feel pain, but many studies show that fish act weirdly, and abnormally after being inflicted with pain, or venomous substances.
Even if the fish are not badly hurt by the hook, the very act of fighting our fishing lines, thrashing their fins, causes enormous psychological stress for the fish. Furthermore, after they are pulled up from depths very quickly, their breathing is affected. So with all this factors, even though a fish may appear to swim away normally after being released, some say that they might die due to these stress in a matter of 2-3 days.

But I think it is very advisable that fish caught, if they will not be used as baits for the next cast, better be CNR-ed. Atleast, they can become prey to some other fish. And why underestimate their up to 60% rate of survival? If you want to keep the fish and consume it, then kill it immediately, instead of letting it thrash around in the cold hard floor. Any comments?

BJT, FNR... no Not Political Parties...

BJT and FNR are not political parties, although lots of fishing is involved in all three.
BJT stands for Bedok Jetty, a place in East Coast Park in Singapore, which is excellent for fishing, and FNR (Fishing News Room), is a very useful, Singapore based Fishing Forum, in which I signed myself in last night.

I used to fish, without knowing much about it, as in the lines, the reel, the bait, and most of the terminology, neither was I too involved with it. Things have changed now. Since I am pretty much jobless, and had to get myself occupied, I spend my days surfing, and thats how I came into contact with Kerry's (ShoreAngler) website.
I was immediately thrilled to discover Bedok Jetty, and was amazed by the catches of Kerry, so decided to drop in there yesterday with my rod and some mealworms (which are definitely not a good bait at all). The seawater below the Jetty is swarmed with a certain type of fish called Tambans. You can see those at the top left hand corner... not easy to see in the photo, but they are those the little black dots. One can get the thrill of catching these fishes just for the sake of it, but many catch the tambans to use them as a bait to catch bigger fishes, and BJT is famous for such catches if you see Kerry's website.

For now, I am getting to learn all the basics from the fellow anglers, and I can't wait to put all that into practice, on my next trip to BJT!