This is what our oceans currently look like
it is our duty as fishermen to make sure that this doesn't happen
We can help stop this
here are three ways how
Hey guys, it's Erin. I'm usually behind the camera but today I'm going to
step out in front to talk to you guys about
Fishing and the environment and some easy things that you can do
to help conserve the environment when you're fishing
So comment below if you have heard before that
recreational fishing only accounts for two to three percent of the fish taken out of the water
That was me.
I definitely heard that, I definitely thought that, I asked Brendon, he had heard that before too, but when I was doing
research for this episode I found out that
recreational fishing actually accounts for almost a quarter of the fish taken out of the water
That's a lot of fish!
Okay? That's a lot of fish that people aren't really thinking about when we think about
harvesting, you know
usually we think about commercial fishing
and how that impacts the environment with like drag netting and
by catching and all that
But we're not really thinking about this
Recreational fishing that are taking a lot of fish out of the water
So I'm gonna give you three things that you can do to reduce your impact on the environment when you're fishing
the first thing we're going to talk about is
your monofilament line
and actually all trash that you find on the shorelines
something that I believe in that I know a lot of you guys
Believe in when I post about this on Instagram or whatever
is that you should always leave your favorite fishing spot
Cleaner than when you found it
when we got here today
There was a ton of trash
Everywhere
and I actually went around and picked up everything
and luckily there are trash and recycling receptacles here
So I was able to dispose of those properly
one thing that I definitely want to remind you about is your fishing line
I see fishing line
everywhere
Everywhere and it doesn't seem like a lot when I find one line
But then I find another and I find another and I find another and soon
I have a huge ball of fishing line that I have to get rid of
I was telling a story on Instagram about how this fisherman was walking by me one time
and he had fishing lines stuck around his ankle and he just cut it off
and I just wish that all marine life had that ability
To just cut themselves out of this stuff, but they don't so we have to definitely do it for them
We have to pick up that stuff when we see it.
So that's pretty easy
But the second thing that I want to talk about is our bycatch
now when we think about recreational and sports fishing
We don't think about bycatch a lot when we think about bycatch
We think about big
dragging nets catching like sea turtles and things that they're not meant to catch but something that I thought was interesting was
when we catch
Like say you're targeting a striper and you
Accidentally catch a perch and you gut hook it by accident that's considered bycatch
And we need to take that into consideration when we're thinking about fish that we're eating in a harvesting
Something you could do to reduce your bycatch is to fish with no treble hooks
first of all
Those three treble hooks are really really bad for fish
fish with a barbless hook if you know that you're not going to be harvesting
your fish
definitely use things that are of
Regulation
and try to practice catch and release as much as you can
with what hands so that you don't get rid of that protective
slimy coating on the fish and do your best to get it back in the water as soon as possible
because even though we think
That we're practicing catch and release a lot of the time
there's a post release
Mortality and we don't think about that a lot.
The last thing to think about is when you're getting to your fishing spot
Are you trampling any kind of vegetation? Are you going through the water? Are you messing up the weeds?
Are you messing up the algae? Are you messing up the grass and the trees and everything in your way?
Are you creating a big destructive path just to get to your spot?
If so
Please try to find another way there because that is really disruptive to the entire food chain
You know, there are a lot of organisms and life and algae and plants that you're you're
destroying and that really has an impact
So three things that you can do
pick up your trash
Alright? pick it up. It's easy. Don't leave it there.
If you're if you lose something go get it if you can't
do your best
Second
catch and release
reduce your bycatch, right?
think about really selectively harvest
I think that's really the key is selectively harvest
release everything that you're not going to eat
Okay, because if
if all of us-- there 20 million of us fishing in the US, okay?
If all of us keep one fish that's 20 million fish. That's so many fish
All right
The third thing that you can do is find a better way to your spot so that you don't destroy any vegetation or weeds on
The way there
if we all do this, you know
It's not one person doing this
if we all do this we can make an impact.
Okay? I'm just one person
You know, Brendon and I are not always perfect
I think that this is something that you need to practice
And really be mindful about and really be thinking about when you're fishing.
You can't just be super focused on those fish
You got to really take into account
Everything that's around you,
you know, you're part of this whole world and you really need to take care of it. So
That's my little talk.
I want you guys to comment below any more tips
any more
Experiences that you've had
I really want to get a conversation started around this so
Comment, subscribe if you like this, see you next episode. Thank ya




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