Why I practice catch-and-release fishing

A Maine fly-fishing guide argues for “catch-and-release” as a practical ethic even when anglers are legally allowed to keep fish. The author contrasts the traditional approach—keeping limits such as brook trout or landlocked salmon—with the reasons fisheries biologists set harvest limits, including rebuilding struggling stocks, protecting breeding fish, preventing overpopulation, and reducing invasive species. They say taking one or two fish usually won’t solve those larger issues, and that releasing gives fish a chance to survive. Their perspective is reinforced by trips that disappointed at the dinner table, and by a Labrador lodge (Igloo Lake Lodge) that enforces fly-fishing-only, barbless hooks, and catch-and-release.