Is catching a fish bad for it?

Tuesday, 4 August 2009 16:50 UK

WHO, WHAT, WHY? The Magazine answers...

One of the UK's most prized carp, Benson, has died, after being caught more than 60 times. So is all that hooking and unhooking bad for fish?

A few nuts are being blamed for the death of Benson, one of the UK's largest and most-loved carp.

The 64lb (29kg) fish could have ingested the nuts, the remnants of which were found on the banks of her home lake in Cambridgeshire, and unprocessed nuts can be fatal.

Benson was a celebrity in the angling world. She had been hooked, photographed and returned to water at least 60 times.

The owner of the Bluebell Lakes, Tony Bridgefoot, said she liked having her picture taken.
But could all that fishing have affected her health?

Plenty would assume so, but anglers tend to believe that if done competently, their sport doesn't stress a fish.

The issue hinges on the age-old question of whether fish feel pain. In 2003, the first conclusive evidence of pain perception in fish was said to have been found by UK scientists based in Edinburgh.

Researchers shot bee venom into the lips of trout and found sites in the heads of the fish that responded to damaging stimuli. They concluded that the fish responded in a way that was not simply reflexive.

This year, scientists in the US announced similar findings after experiments on goldfish.

But anglers, such as Martin Ford, editor of magazine group Angling Publications, say fish like Benson, who are caught often, actually choose to take the bait, knowing it's on the end of a hook.

"When they get to that size they will get very selective about what they eat and very often they may not be caught for 14 to 15 months.

"So, does pressure perhaps become detrimental to the fish? Yes and no. Some choose not to be caught."

Mr Ford says he prefers to fish in waters that were not so busy, but if a fish was traumatised by the experience, it would not choose to go through it again.

"Benson has made a choice to visit the bank and see what the other side of the world is like."
Educated anglers do their utmost to ensure that a big carp, once on the bank, is cared for extremely well, he says.

"I'm confident that a fish goes through no stress from a competent angler."

Angling has taken great strides to improve the well-being of the fish, says Mr Ford, and all good carp anglers should use fish-friendly nets, soft and padded unhooking mats and only keep the carp out of the water for a maximum of five minutes in summer, and about double that in winter.

'No pain'

Photos should be taken near the water and all anglers should carry a gel to apply to any wounds their hooks cause to the mouth.

"Wounds heal very quickly and modern tackle is made so that if the line breaks, the carp is able to get rid of any end tackle.

"The area of the mouth is very sinewy, there's no blood or veins and in my opinion I don't think there's a pain issue. But if a hook slips out of the mouth and catches near the gill area, then there will be pain."

"We get knocked by the anti-anglers who say that fish feel pain, and I believe some university bods have proved that some fish do feel pain, but until you sit me down next to a carp and it says to me ' I feel immense pain', then it's an open-ended question."

But a spokesman for animal rights campaign group Peta, says: "If common sense isn't enough, the science is clear: being repeatedly impaled with a hook and yanked into an environment in which fish cannot breathe, like Benson, undeniably causes distress, pain and can lead to infections.

"Even simply handling or netting fish can abrade their protective coating and lead to death."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8183547.stm