Many recreational fishing records are based on weight, but a new study argues that moving to another measure – such as length – could help preserve threatened species. (Photo credit: Bob schenkenberger, via flickr)
Every angler wants to catch the ‘big one’, but the heaviest fish are often more fertile and those needed most to continue the species.
Researchers have analysed the approximately 1,200 species for which records are held by the International Game Fish Association and found that 85 of them are listed as ‘threatened’ by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.
The researchers recommend that for these fish, records could be based on length rather than weight. That way, anglers could take a photo to validate their claim, rather than having to kill the fish in order to weight it.
Original article published in Marine Policy online on August 11, 2014.
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