What are the consequences of sport fishing for fish?
As soon as a fish bites, a barbed hook penetrates the roof of its mouth. It will try to swim away, but the fisherman’s line is too strong. Floundering and gasping for oxygen, the fish tries unsuccessfully to get away. Hanging by its upper lip, the fish is reeled in after its struggle and then lands powerlessly into the fisherman’s hands. Then the hook needs to be removed. Experienced fishermen generally know that they have to be careful with the fish’s skin, and place it on a special mat. Less experienced or equipped fishermen don’t take this into account and often put the fish down on the rough ground. This can easily cause the fish to lose scales. Since a fish’s skin is made up of scales and a thin layer of mucus only, damaging its skin often leads to skin infections by fungi and bacteria. Holding fish in dry hands has these same risks, and is strongly advised against. Wrong live nets or wrongly used live nets can also cause stress and damage to the fish’s scales. Of course, taking o
