A story about ethical sporting has hit main stream media. It
all started with “Did you hear about that fish?” A Google search about a record
breaking trout will bring up the story. (I was going to post a link to the news
story, but could not obtain legal permission to do so.) Anytime there is a
story about a fish, and my ears are perked.
While at a Pest Management Conference, I was standing in
line for a buffet. Small talked turned into a story about a man catching a
world record Lake Trout. I was filled in about how the man had already kept his
limit, which in Canada is one fish. So
he gave his 1st fish to his son, who was fishing with him; keeping
the record fish from himself. He brought the fish in to the taxidermist. One
problem was while fishing in Canada you are not allowed to party fish. He was
open and honest with the authorities that he broke the law and what had
happened. The Canadian Department of Wildlife in turn impounded the fish which
was 20lbs. larger than the Minnesota state record.
Immediately I felt bad for the man, he was honest, he told
the truth, he didn’t hurt anyone, I kept telling myself. Then I sided with the
authorities. He broke the law; it’s up to him to follow the law. Laws are in
place to protect the fish from us. Battling back and forth with this I decided
to take a stand. Maybe it is time for the laws to be looked at regarding record
fish. I believe there has to be a way for an angler to measure the fish with a
tape for length and girth. Have a photo taken of the fish and a documented
witness for a record to be official.
Under the current system a fish must be weighed on a
registered scale. The fish dies in the process of taking it to a shop that has
a registered scale. Why must all fish be killed to be a state or world record, let
alone all the fish that may be records? I
understand wanting to keep a record on the wall as a trophy, but in all cases
such as this case, that is not possible. Is it time to look at the way we view
these records and the way we record them?
Let me know what you think.
