Fishing world: Speaking out

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Speaking out

The Sea of Cortez is one of the most prolific and magnificent bodies of water on our planet. The crew at Jen Wren Sportfishing does not take the resource for granted and we do what we can to protect it.

I can remember not all that many years ago when boats would kill almost every billfish caught just to hang for photos. Nobody seemed concerned about the resource at that time and billfish were stacked up on the beach like cord wood. Sport boat operators have come a long way from those days and most of us understand and respect the fact that billfish are not an endless resource. Regardless of the loose laws, we understand our moral obligation to protect them.

Last year we implemented the policy of using only circle hooks. We also tend to use heavier tackle to shorten battles with the intention of not stressing fish to their demise. In spite of our efforts upon occasion a fish gets tail wrapped or hooked wrong and dies. When the odd fish goes upside down I am not all that sad about it. I know we did everything we could to keep it alive. It is a casualty of the sport. The positive side is the fish will not go to waste. It will not only feed our boat crews but also our diesel mechanic, maid, gardner and others in our local community without opportunity to get fresh fish. Most of the time even the carcass is wanted by someone to make soup.

If an angler fishing with us wants to take a billfish, depending on their motive, most of the time it is OK with me. If it is just for a photo and not for the table we will try to talk them into letting it go. If it is because they like to eat marlin there is no law against taking them and I'm not the judge or jury. Personally I enjoy smoked marlin very much and find it better eating then tuna or most other fish we catch. This year I didn't get the opportunity to smoke any, feeling it was more important to let our employees and their families take the few fish that didn't survive.

Over the last couple of years I have gotten a lot of riff from several tree hugging readers whom have seen my photos of happy and excited anglers displaying a billfish on our boat. I understand the possibility of damage and the risk of hurting the fish. It is not something we often practice and we always try to get the fish back in the water as quickly as possible. We watch them swim away and I believe they all have a much higher chance of survival than laying on our swim-step.

Looking back at 2012 we fished over 200 days. I have made 42 weekly reports with about 400 photos. Fifteen of those photos are with billfish in our cockpit. I estimate that to be about 6 or 7% of the billfish we hooked this year. If we can compromise with an angler that wants to kill a fish for a photo and see how much it weighs by getting a good photo of the fish in our cockpit and then letting it swim away why the grief? The angler has done their part and so have we. It just seems to me that some of the "green" people are over the edge.

Maybe I'm just crankie because winter is setting in and we are not out fishing.

Our goal is memories of a life time for our guests. Here are a few from 2012