I just want to kill the fish

[pyiannakis]

I was disgusted with one of the fisherman yesterday, I noticed he had reeled in a puffer fish, the puffers I've caught so far have been carefully handled with a cloth, and I have removed the hook from the mouth then released the puffer back into the water. This includes the sea barbel that have found themselves being reeled in.

I saw this fisherman lay the fish on a rock, then stab it in the head a few times with his knife, once it was dead he removed the hook and threw the fish back into the water, bounced on the rocks first, and lay dead waiting for the tide to take it.

I dont know how anyone else would feel, but I kind of wished I was fishing with my black eagle so I could have wildly swung it at this man and given breaking that cheap unlucky rod a good reason to break it! Is there ever a good reason to kill any fish? if you dont want the responsibility of releasing the fish that's not edible, why are you fishing?

 

[pyiannakis]

On a side note...

I have never been approached by an official asking to see my fishing permit in Mossel Bay. I have never seen one on any beach or fishing spot here. Do they really exist? are they of ninja origin and appear out of the bushes with R1's AK47's? Knifes, batons? Are they police? Are they postmen as the licence is bought from the post office?

 

[rofflign]

pyiannakis wrote:

I was disgusted with one of the fisherman yesterday, I noticed he had reeled in a puffer fish, the puffers I've caught so far have been carefully handled with a cloth, and I have removed the hook from the mouth then released the puffer back into the water. This includes the sea barbel that have found themselves being reeled in.

I saw this fisherman lay the fish on a rock, then stab it in the head a few times with his knife, once it was dead he removed the hook and threw the fish back into the water, bounced on the rocks first, and lay dead waiting for the tide to take it.

I dont know how anyone else would feel, but I kind of wished I was fishing with my black eagle so I could have wildly swung it at this man and given breaking that cheap unlucky rod a good reason to break it! Is there ever a good reason to kill any fish? if you dont want the responsibility of releasing the fish that's not edible, why are you fishing?

I was fishing for kob at Melkbaai in Strand one evening and landed a small vaalhaai, before I could take it off and release it, the bloke fishing next to me offered to remove the hook and put the shark back quickly. It turns out he was a springbok angler and was a bit worried I was going to kill the shark.Needless to say I was impressed.

Maybe try the same, but be polite and tactful about it.

 

[Bern]

An ex-colleague of mine tells a great story. He was doing angler interviews for his M.Sc. somewhere on the EC coast. It was after the beach vehicle ban and anglers were still quite hot under the collar about the ban. The one angler he interviewed, in all seriousness, said that the ban on beach vehicles was going to affect small stock farmers in the area. His explanation was as follows:
“Because people are no longer allowed to drive on the beach people are going to stop fishing in the sea. And people that fish in the sea always throw their barbel, skaamhaaie and other “trash” fish onto the beach. At night the jackals then come onto the beach and eat these dead trash fish. But now that beach fishing is reduced, there will be fewer dead sharks, etc. on the beach and the jackals will not have anything to scavenge and will then start raiding smallstock farms.”
There is a certain weird logic to it, but the mentality is questionable at best.