Is it considered a waste of fish to release an illegal fish that was injured during capture and will probably die shortly after release?
No, this would not be considered “waste of fish”, as long as the angler takes adequate care in preventing injury to the fish. There is no provision in the sport fishing regulations that allows an angler to keep an illegal fish, even if the fish is dying or already dead upon capture. All illegal fish must be returned to the water immediately, regardless of condition. If an angler removes a fish from the resource by killing it and does not benefit from its death in some way (such as by eating the fish) or return it to the resource (as in the dead illegal fish example above), then that may be considered a waste of fish. Returning a dead or dying fish to the water that was not intentionally injured or mistreated would not be considered a waste of fish, as other organisms in the marine environment will benefit from the death of the fish. Using a pier gaff to land a large bat ray from the pier and then throwing it back into the water may be considered a waste of fish. Landing a thornback and
Related Questions
- Is it considered a waste of fish to release an illegal fish that was injured during capture and will probably die shortly after release?
- What should I tell my purchasers about moving live fish and what about catch and release fishing such as in tournaments?
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