By Tammy Wilson
Loosely defined, best practices are things that every individual angler can do every time they are on the water to help conserve and protect the fishery we all dearly love. They don’t cost much, you don’t need special training, they don’t require a lot of time or effort, but their impacts can be huge. They are things that even the most novice of anglers can employ to increase the odds of a sustainable fishery long into the future.
AFC conducted a survey of more than 100 fellow anglers and challenge them to name their top three best practices. The following are the three most popular answers we received.
Cleaning Up
This was easily the single most common answer among those surveyed. Leaving nothing but a footprint, or a wake, seems to be important to many people, as well it should be. The simple act of NOT littering is not just a best practice; it is our duty as anglers. Taking along an extra bag and picking up after those who aren’t as aware or concerned can make a huge impact on the environment, and therefore the fishery. Even children can do it!
Education
The second most popular answer in our survey was education. Ignorance is no excuse. Know the regulations, the seasons, and size and bag limits. Know the area you are going to fish and the type of fish you are likely to encounter. Simply having a fishing license is not enough. Know the laws, the boundaries and your opponent. It doesn’t cost a thing and takes very little time or effort. Fishing regulations for most states are easy to find on the Internet and you can always print out a current copy to keep in your tackle box.
Get Involved.
The number three answer in our survey is get involved. Getting involved can be a number of things like teaching others, helping with habitat restoration and being a voice for our fishery. Some of the better examples we received were get children outdoors and teach them to fish, educate others on “better” ways to handle and release fish, keep the phone number of the local fish and wildlife office handy to report violations, volunteer for a trash pickup, and show up at public meetings and voice your concerns about fishery and environmental issues. Stand up and be heard. Whatever it takes, just get involved.
Although we received replies from all over the country and from different angling venues, the commonality of the responses sends a very clear message. It should be no surprise the answers we received go hand in hand with the three main objectives of Anglers for Conservation, angler education, applied conservation and habitat restoration.
Feel free to comment with your top 3 Best Practices!
Mine included the following:
Don’t litter.
Use fish appropriate gear.
Treat ALL fish with respect.