Sport fishing
This practice causes the most injuries and deaths to animals for pleasure purposes. Countless fish and other sentient species endure agonizing deaths and injuries in human sports.
There are various types of fishing. However, angling is undoubtedly the most popular. Aside from the number of lives lost, this practice causes significant pain to the animals involved because of injuries and anxiety.
The suffering of the animal victims of angling
A hook pierces through the jaw of most fish. Since the jaw is sensitive, wounded fish may experience severe pain. In other circumstances, fishermen grab them by other portions of their bodies rather than their mouths. Consequently, they may get injuries to their eyes, throats, or intestines, among other places. Aside from that, hooks can also be sharp, increasing their damage. And oftentimes, fish ingests the hooks.
Aside from this suffering, the animals get carried to the surface where they could no longer breathe. As a result, they suffocate in the same way as humans would underwater. They fight back ferociously in their attempt to get back to the water. Though common sense suggests that fish suffer in these conditions, research studies of what happens when they hook, also provide evidence.
“Catch and release” is also harmful to fishes
Animals exposed to “catch and release” suffer serious physical injuries, great stress, and, in many cases, death. Many fish die when they undergo this.
In reality, most of these fish die due to their injuries. During the “catch and release” phase, fish may sustain injuries to their eyes, throat, esophagus, and intestines. They may also perish due to stress, oxygen loss, or lactic acid buildup in their effort to release themselves. Nets that remove fish from the water can trigger mucous loss, fin fraying, and scale loss. Apart from these, they are more prone to disease and may go unprotected against predators. Thus, they may starve because of their injured jaws, which prevents them from eating properly.
Sometimes, anglers may also place the fish they plan to release in a keep net to free later. Due to overpopulation and a lack of oxygen, these keep nets can cause discomfort to the fish. Diseases can also spread rapidly in these nets. Oftentimes, fish die in them, and if they don’t, their chances of survival are lesser.
Further Victims of Angling
Other creatures also endure the repercussions of this practice in addition to the fish that anglers catch. Used as live bait, small fish and other animals are often strung up on hooks. This excruciating experience causes them immense pain. In fact, they may endure it more than the creatures used for catching. They eventually die due to injuries or when other fishes eat them.
In addition to this, the nylon rope for catching fish is often cut and then left in the water as they tangle with something. Animals passing by the remnants of the nets may be tangled up in the nylon rope or be cut by it. Some animals consume abandoned fishing hooks as well causing them to suffer and die eventually.
Other forms of fishing
Net fishing is another method of fishing for enjoyment that does not utilize hooks. There are numerous methods for employing nets. Fishers sometimes drop large nets directly into the sea or attach them to things in the water.
In other cases, they use smaller nets. These are typically little nets on hoops of a stick, familiar as hand nets. Also, these can also be medium nets hanging from a stick, familiar as lift nets. Fish caught in nets suffer from stress and may have their scales injured owing to friction from the net and brushing against the bodies of other fishes. They will ultimately suffocate and die.