Wrasse kill or Release

[lambtonworm]

hi mate im with you on wrasse , but what about the plaice it has about the same growth rate as the wrasse and is a fish in decline. but you see them killed all the time. a 1.5 lb fish that you can not get a decent fillet off is regarded as a good fish by some.

your right in what you say and Plaice likewise is a slow growing species along with Bass,the problem with the two are the fact they are a commercial and recognised table fish that demand top prices,i myself keep a few Plaice but size wise some you see in the supermarkets border on a disgrace.we can never have any say in what commercials target and Plaice will always been on there list,soft ground trawling and a good market Value,thankfully Wrasse are neither so we can help protect the species.

[moocher]

we have no control over the gill netters and there practices Chris,what we can do is protect our sporting fish,if Wrasse packed on weight like our white fish species and were shoaling tidal fish then there would be no debate,the fact remain that wrasse are slow growing,resident fish that are territorial and once wiped out could take years to be re - established,personally Ive had good Wrasse during matches in SW Scotland and always returned them but that is a decision made by myself,only the individual can decide the value of a species to them,a 20lb bag weight of Wrasse would be approx 80 years of combined growth which would have won very little at the time.

your right in what you say and Plaice likewise is a slow growing species along with Bass,the problem with the two are the fact they are a commercial and recognised table fish that demand top prices,i myself keep a few Plaice but size wise some you see in the supermarkets border on a disgrace.we can never have any say in what commercials target and Plaice will always been on there list,soft ground trawling and a good market Value,thankfully Wrasse are neither so we can help protect the species.

as you say we have no control what the commercials , gill netters or supermarkets do. but we as anglers can help to protect fish no matter what the species .but you will not see many 2lb plaice put back. all you here is it,s pan size.

[JUBZ]

Release

[andyco]

Can't even catch one mate. . Would release if I did get one though. Havent kept anything other than mackerel.

I'd say the bigger the fish, the more reason to release it - the big ones are the fittest, healthiest ones who are spawning the next generations.

[jack555]

Release..

[NICKY]

theres no right and wrong here realese if im pleasure fishing if they will go back keep if fishing a match,at the end of the day its up to the angler what he or she does with there catch

as for CMR I think a few people think all the fish that get caught are realesed alive im afraid that's not the case load of small whiting,codling,flounders ect die but this acceptable as there a fast growing species.

[garry36]

Agree with nicky

[not_a_clue_about_fishing]

I caught my first wrasse on friday (think this thread may have something to do with mine in the catch report section). Like I stated in there I kept it because I like to eat what I catch

[Fishcakes]

RELEASE.

I can understand why the match lads might want to weigh in though. Maybe the way forward would be for matches to go measure & release. Maybe a photo with a match ticket on a measure for evidence. This could apply to all species so that folk that want to put back can.

That said, I've got nowt against people keeping their catch. We pay so much for tackle & bait that if folk want a meal out of it then who can blame them.

Seen lots in print lately about folk not claiming record fish because they want to release. Maybe it's time the whole fishing community changed to measure / photo for competitions and records.

[lambtonworm]

I caught my first wrasse on friday (think this thread may have something to do with mine in the catch report section). Like I stated in there I kept it because I like to eat what I catch

its not specifically about your Wrasse mate it was seeking the general opinion,
your fish would have been 20 year old and you have every right to eat it if you so wish,there are a lot of anglers out there that dont look in to background of certain species and then are quite surprised at the age or enviroment they live in,unfortunately money rules and if a 70 year old wrasse ends up in a weight match it will be sacrificed for a few quid,

[garry36]

People could take photos of wrasse weeks ago and cheat and try to weigh them in that wouldn't work mate,what anglers catch wouldn't make no difference to the wrasse community what so ever even though there slow growing

[toonboymc]

Personally I wouldn't kill a wrasse for the table no matter what the size only because they are a lovely looking fish and have heard they are rubbish to eat but it's up to each individual
To be honest I didn't realise the facts about wrasse so cheers Andy - lambtonworm that's good to know facts like that

[lingking]

a few clubs are starting to exclude them from weigh in also boat comps

[topbanana]

Release every time and ban them from all matches. But as with all things it boils down to greed where there's money involved, i.e. Matches.

[broon shoe]

Personally I wouldn't kill a wrasse for the table no matter what the size only because they are a lovely looking fish and have heard they are rubbish to eat but it's up to each individual
To be honest I didn't realise the facts about wrasse so cheers Andy - lambtonworm that's good to know facts like that

I agree m8 good info that lambtonworm