Introduction

• Problem #1: Put and Take fishery with limited natural fish
• Problem #2:  Naturally reproducing bass pond on the Plains (Midwest U.S.)
• Problem #3:  A saltwater fishing trip in the Gulf of Mexico in the summer
• Problem #4: The healthy un-touched, un-tapped fishery

INTRODUCTION

As humans, we have the largest impact on living systems of any species, and therefore we must take care when we interact with these systems.  Streams, lakes, estuaries, bays, and oceans exist in a fragile balance, that if we are careful, can be enjoyed not only by us, but by our decendants.  This doesn't mean we can't occationall harvest a an animal from the ecosystem, but it does mean that we must understand how removing that animal will affect the ecosystem.  Predators like wolves and sharks naturally bound the population of  the species they prey upon to what the environment can support.  People must use a little brain-power to do the same, keep only fish that the environment can afford to loose, let the survivors go-they have won the battle with their environment, therefore so will their offspring (with luck). Sometimes doing the long-range right thing is painful, but we don't own the environment-we only watch over it for our children. Every angler must use their own judgement and apply their own morals, basically don't kill without thinking about the result first.  AND REMEMBER-YOU DON'T ALWAYS HAVE TO KEEP FISH TO PROVE YOUR CATCH-PICTURES WITH RULERS WORK JUST AS WELL TO REMEMBER THE EXPERIENCE (provided you have any credibility).

• Problem #1: Put and Take fishery with limited natural fish
• Situation:  I am fishing in a stocked trout stream in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.  The river is stocked monthly with 9" rainbow trout from a local hatchery, but has a very limited  population of natural brook trout.  I know I would like to have two trout  for dinner, but will probably have to freeze more than that (the limit for the area is ten at 7" or above).  I catch 2 brook trout, 3 small rainbow trout (7", 9", 12"), and a  large rainbow trout (21"). As a responsible angler, I know that in the summer this stream will not support a massive trout population, but will sustain a limted number all year.
• What I would do:  I would release all the brook trout, keep the 9" and 12" rainbows, release the 7" & 21" rainbow (after a picture!).
• Why? : The brookies are native fish that must rely on natural reproduction, and experience heavy competition from the stocked rainbows, therefore they all go back.  The little 7" rainbow is the result of natural spawning in the stream, and has survived at least one summer, and will likely survive to spawn-it goes back to the stream. The big 21" rainbow is a long-lived veteran of the stream, and will likely produce many more offspring, therefore it goes back after a quick picture (besides-big trout don't usually taste good). The 9"&12" trout are likely stocked trout, and the 12" has spawned once since being stocked-they end up on the grill, and the stream will not be hurt by their loss since the biologist stocking the stream likely has calculated that the average angler will take home  2.8 fish (28% of the limit-some anglers don't catch or keep any, some anglers keep the limit).
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• Problem #2:  Naturally reproducing bass pond on the Plains (Midwest U.S.).
• Situation:  A small (5 acre) pond is located in the middle of private land, and appears to only see an angler once a year.  It has a large population of small 8"-12" bass, it also has two large bass (3 lbs, 5 lbs+), and a some large bluegill (8").  It appears to be rain-fed, and has trees surrounding it. It has not been stocked in recent memory, and will likely not be stocked again.
• What can I take and not hurt the pond?  Keep just short of your limit of the 10"-12" bass (keep within the law), let go the all the large bluegill you catch, and if it is truely fished only once a year, you might be able to keep one of the large bass. Follow this one and you'll actually be doing the rest of the fish a favor.
• Why?  The pond is in a stunted (out of ideal balance) state.  There are far too many little bass in the pond, and they are consuming the entire year's growth of little bluegill.  The big bass (the pond masters) are doing the bulk of the spawning, but if one is lost it will quickly be replaced from the swarms of smaller bass.  All the bluegill go back because it is their spawn that support the bass, and their population should be larger than the bass population for the pond to be in balance.
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• Problem #3:  A saltwater fishing trip in the Gulf of Mexico in the summer
• Situation:  I take a multi-species all day trip out into the Gulf of Mexico as the only angler (with  guides who are not keeping any fish for themselves).  In the morning we are after King and Spanish Mackeral.  In the afternoon we are after bottom fish: Snappers, Grouper, Amberjack.  The latest reliable studies from the Coastal Conservation Association show that the King Mackeral population is very healthy, and that the Spanish Mackeral population is also healthy, but that the Grouper, Amberjack, and Red Snapper populations are low.  The limits on each species are as follows:  King Mackeral-2 at 18", Spanish Mackeral-10 at 12", Red Snapper-5 at 15", All other snappers-10 in agregate at 10", Amberjack - 2 at 28", and Grouper-2 at 21".   I know that I can only really use 20lbs of fish fillets at most.
• What can I take and not negatively impact the fishery? At most I could keep (but well exceed my 20lbs of fillets requirement) : 2 King Mackeral (24"-48"), 8 Spanish Mackeral (12"-26"),  2 Red Snapper (between 18" and 21"), 1 Grouper (between 25"-30"), 1 Amberjack (32"-36"), and 8 assorted 'weenie' snappers (Vermillion and Lane snappers 12"-14"). HOWEVER, I would likely actually keep only the following:  1 King Mackeral (30"-38"), 5 Spanish Mackeral (14"-20"), 8 Vermillion Snappers, and either 1 amberjack or 1 grouper  or 2 red snapper.   This assumes I am not fishing like this more than 4 times a year.  If I fish any more than that I usually select (if any) one species I might keep (usually Spanish Mackeral or King Mackeral though the Spanish taste better), and unless this  fish looks near dead, release the rest.  Sometimes I will let all the fish go.
• Why?  Most saltwater species take several years before they can breed, and the breeders  are the largest of the bunch. Bottom fish require a long time to breed, are fished heavily year-round, and reproduce slowly. Groupers, Amberjack, and Red Snapper that are large are usually at least 10 years old, and Groupers over 10lbs are likely closer to 20years old plus. A keeper will take a while to replace.  While mackeral grow much faster, they are subject to more natural predation, and also, very large kings (over 48"-like all very large saltwater fish) contain high levels of mercury and other toxins.  The Vermillion Snappers and Spanish Mackeral breed quickly, and grow to adult size in a few years, meaning they will be replaced quickly, and also that the natural system allows for the loss of a good number of them. Also, there is a high level of mortality when releasing bottom fish, if you have been releasing lots of bottom fish, assume 30% will die, and count them into your personal limit.

• Problem #4: The healthy un-touched, un-tapped fishery.
• Situation: By shear luck or serious planning you get the chance to fish an un-touched (to your knowledge) island or lake with healthy and spectacular populations of fish.  You might want one fish for dinner, but you can live with out it.
• What would I do?  I might keep one fish per day that is: mid-sized for its species, is a species that is not in the top one or two teirs of the food web, is small enough for me to eat in one or two meals. If no such fish exists in this area, and my life (or someone else) is not on the line, I would let them all go.
• Why? I would want to keep the fishery essentially the same way I found it, and let another fortunate angler experience a 'virgin' fishery.
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