Echo sounder, super hook, fishing app …: Ever more sophisticated technologies ensure better biting when fishing for leisure. What consequences does this have for the protection of fish populations and the use of the hobby? As an international team of experts is now making clear, some technical innovations can increase the pressure to catch and intensify conflicts. The scientists say that water management should react appropriately to this.
Since time immemorial, people have been pulling fish out of the water with sticks, lines and hooks. What once served only to obtain food has become a popular pastime as is well known: Many people enjoy the combination of tranquility, excitement and nature experience when fishing with a fishing rod. Since overstressing fish stocks must be avoided, hobby fishing is subject to legal regulations. Anglers are usually also committed to water protection and strive for sustainable practices in their hobby.
Petri Heil with technical support
But recreational fishing is changing – high-tech is increasingly finding its way. More and more refined designed rods, fishing lines, hooks, bait and other equipment are used to increase the success of the catch. In addition, some anglers are now using technology such as underwater cameras, echo sounding systems and even drones to locate where it is most worthwhile to cast the line. Special smartphone apps also support the anglers in their hobby and ensure the dissemination of information: They make it possible to quickly share experiences, successes and good fishing spots with others.
“Modern anglers and their electronics work like a networked system that can detect, attract and catch fish with increasing efficiency,” says Steven Cooke of Carleton University in Canada. “From the point of view of the hobby angler, the innovations appear mostly positive, but for fishery managers and other decision-makers, the rapid technological change represents a challenge and questions arise about the effects,” says the fishing expert. To shed light on the subject, Cooke, together with his colleague Robert Arlinghaus from the Leibniz Institute for Freshwater Ecology and other experts, carried out a comprehensive literature study on the past and future of device innovations in angling. Extensive practical experience has also flowed into the study, as no scientific knowledge is yet available on many aspects.
chances and risks
As the researchers report, there are risks, but in some cases also opportunities, from the innovations in angling fishing: “Innovations in fishing technology can certainly also benefit fish – they help, for example, to reduce injuries, stress and the mortality of relocated undersized fish or ensure that that only certain types or sizes end up on the hook and that it is no longer swallowed deeply, ”says Arlinghaus. “However, technical innovations can also change the entire functioning of angling, stir up conflicts between anglers’ groups and other water users, increase inequality in the catches of anglers and violate proven moral principles. So the whole thing has two sides, ”says the fisheries expert.
Scientists see the use of sophisticated techniques to track fish as one of the problematic innovations. “Modern echosounders can act like an angler’s extended arm,” says Cooke. “This means that individual fish can be precisely localized in open water and individual large fish can be targeted. Depending on the prevalence among anglers, the pressure to catch the rare larger predatory fish can increase. ”In addition, thanks to sophisticated GPS and boat technology, good fishing spots can be quickly found and other anglers can be informed. In extreme cases, this could lead to local overfishing, say the scientists.
There is a need for research
As you point out, there is still little research into the extent to which catch rates really increase through the use of high-tech. Often there is also a lack of data from which one can objectively deduce the effects of the new methods. Initial studies from the USA show, however, that modern anglers today catch fish at least much more efficiently than they did in the 1960s and 1970s. The research has thus also shown that there is a need for research in order to better assess the importance of innovations in fishing.
The information could then lead to appropriate responses, say the researchers. In Germany, fishing rights in inland waters are often in the hands of fishing clubs. In the event of conflicts or concerns about overexploitation, they often regulate the application of new technologies themselves via the respective water system. Accompanying scientific research would be helpful here. “A systematic study of the effects of modern technologies would ensure that management measures with regard to new technologies in recreational fishing are proactive instead of reactive,” concludes Arlinghaus.
Source: Leibniz Institute for Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, specialist article: Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries, doi: 10.1007 / s11160-021-09643-1