Greenfish and Sustainable Fishing

This blog entry is my submission for the GreenFish and Outdoor Blogger Network Writing Prompt Giveaway

What does sustainable fishing mean to you? What fishing practices do you engage in that help fisheries? Any other thoughts you might have on this subject?

First we’ll catch and eat, then we’ll talk about catch and release.

That statement was made by my former father-in-law many years ago while we sat in a canoe fishing primarily for largemouth bass, but accepting anything that would take a lure. He had got me involved with a rod and gun club outside Richmond, Virginia. Eventually I became a member. This was a private club owning 440 acres of land surrounding three 30 acre lakes. There were only 35 members. Some of those owned another 600 acres that protected even more of these lakes.

Considering the circumstances, it was an easy statement to make and understand. There was no problem with the lakes. Healthy fish populations of bass, chain pickerel, crappie and a wide variety of panfish populated each lake.

There were so few members that you never gave thought about fish sustainability. You caught enough fish for dinner, you put the rest back. If you wanted protein for a meal, you had no choice. The nearest store was 20 miles away, why go shopping.

That’s why you first caught to eat. It could be a bad day of fishing, so better to keep what few you catch right off the bat.

Where I lived and grew up in the Chicago area, that type of attitude toward the creatures of the water doesn’t work. In the Chicago area there are just over 9.5 million people. Considering the whole state has around 12.9 people, that’s a lot of people crammed into one corner of the state.

Through this area flows rivers. Their history has not always been stellar. I got to live a few blocks from the Chicago River, not far from the former stockyards. Picture groups of 9 year olds standing on a bridge, book of matches in hand, lighting matches and dropping them into the river. Hopes were high the river would burst into flames.

A few years later living on the outer edge of Chicago, hanging around the shore of the Des Plaines River was a favorite past time. We weren’t allowed to go in or touch it though. There were even signs around that gave that warning. It was no more than an open sewer.

In 1996, not till I was 40, did I start fishing rivers. It never dawned on me that those rivers might be right in the Chicago area, including the ones described above. I had decided to get involved with a couple of conservation groups. One for Salt Creek, which I lived near in a near western suburb, and the other for the Des Plaines River, the former flowing sewer.

Fish had been stocked in both these bodies of water and the usual catch and release mentality prevailed. But to me that wasn’t good enough. I support that effort, but for struggling bodies of water, bodies of water that had been horribly degraded for decades, catch and release on fish shouldn’t get the lions share of attention.

Instead, I kept pushing for cleaner waters. Sustainable practices on shore and inland to prevent the waters where fish live from becoming unlivable. Setbacks of property from rivers edges. Control of point and non-point sources of pollution. Community awareness programs that educate residents on these valuable resources. The list is endless on what was done to promote the health of these flowing waters.

On Salt Creek, things didn’t go well. In the late 90’s, over 40,000 smallmouth bass were stocked in the creek. It’s been years since I’ve heard of any being caught. The assumption is that they have all died off. Catch and release is a moot point when there’s not much to catch.

Other rivers in the area have fared better, but these are still urban rivers with urban problems. Development doesn’t always adhere to best practices when it comes to building. I now live near and know of many areas along the Fox River that probably should have never been developed. Flood plains that were paved for parking lots. Natural water retention areas that were moved and pushed into small subdivision ponds. These same things apply to the DuPage River, which flows through some of the Chicago areas most densely populated suburbs.

To me, setting aside swatches of land that border creeks and rivers should be a given. There should be no reason for anyone to build a parking lot or building that butts directly up to one of these waterways.

There is a tremendous amount of information available that shows how to control and contain water runoff. In the house I had in Elmhurst, the back yard was low and flooded. Grass absorbs water down for about 2 inches, that’s the length of grass roots. Some prairie plants have roots that dig down 10 feet into the soil. I planted those and the flooding stopped.

When it comes to sustainability of our fishing resources, I’m all for it. But first things first, the fish need healthy ecosystems in order to survive and thrive.

So the next time a hand sized brook trout is being released, or a powerful steelhead is held by the tail being revived or a pissed off smallie is flipping you off on release, stand up and look around. What is up or down stream. What is just over the rise. Where is that useless dam that exists solely to block fish migrations.

All the talk of sustaining fish populations through the practice of catch and release is pointless when there’s nothing to catch. I’ve seen it happen in the past, I would hate to see it ever happen again. Rather than admonish the one that may want to take a meal home to see what it tastes like, admonish the many that adversely effect the waters we fish and should know better.

Better still, concentrate on educating those that don’t know the effect they’re having on the water around them, but are out there hiking and wandering along the waters even though they don’t fish. These are the ones that can be the most help, the interest is there, now the knowledge is needed.

Some day I would like to be able to wander down to a river, catch a smallie or a trout or any kind of fish and put it on a stringer. Catch a few more and release them for next time. Go home, beer batter the filets and sit down for a fine fish dinner . . . without feeling a single twinge of guilt.