Editing Catch and release (section)

==History==
[[File:Catch and Release sign Ireland multiple languages.jpg|thumb|Multilingual catch and release sign in Ireland]]
In the United Kingdom, catch and release has been performed for more than a century by [[coarse fishing|coarse fishermen]] in order to prevent target species from disappearing in heavily [[Fishing|fished]] waters. Since the latter part of the 20th century, many [[Atlantic Salmon|salmon]] and [[Brown trout|sea trout]] rivers have been converted to complete or partial catch and release. In Scotland, the [[River Dee, Aberdeenshire|River Dee]] operates a full catch and release policy for salmon, grilse and sea trout.<ref>Dee Conservation Code 2022 (riverdee.org.uk)</ref>

In the United States, catch and release was first introduced as a management tool in the state of [[Michigan]] in 1952 as an effort to reduce the cost of [[fish stocking|stocking]] [[hatchery]]-raised trout. [[Angling|Anglers fishing]] for fun rather than for food accepted the idea of releasing the fish while fishing in "no-kill" zones. [[conservation movement|Conservationist]]s have advocated catch and release as a way to ensure [[sustainability]] and to avoid [[overfishing]] of [[fish stocks]]. [[Lee Wulff]], a New York-based [[fly fishing|fly]] angler, author and film maker, promoted catch and release as early as 1936 with the phrase "Game fish are too valuable to be caught only once."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://owaa.org/owaa-legends/a-hero-of-mine-remembering-lee-wulff/ |title=A Hero of Mine: Remembering Lee Wulff |author=Giudice, Gary |publisher=Outdoor Writers Association of America |access-date=2014-11-15}}</ref> [[Don Martinez]] a [[West Yellowstone, Montana]], fly shop owner, promoted catch and release in his 1930–40s newsletters sent to Eastern anglers.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Grant, George |author-link=George F. Grant |title=Don Martinez-Western Dry Fly Master |journal=American Fly Fisher |volume=9 |number=2 |date=Spring 1982 |access-date=2014-11-15 |url=http://www.amff.com/assets/images/archived-journals/1982-Vol09-No2web.pdf |pages=9–14 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129021150/http://www.amff.com/assets/images/archived-journals/1982-Vol09-No2web.pdf |archive-date=2014-11-29 }}</ref>

In Australia, catch and release caught on slowly, with some pioneers practicing it in the 1960s, and the practice slowly became more widespread in the 1970s and 1980s. Catch and release is now widely used to conserve—and indeed is critical in conserving—vulnerable fish species like the large, long lived native freshwater [[Murray Cod]] and the prized, slowly growing, heavily fished [[Australian bass]], heavily fished coastal species like [[Dusky Flathead]] and prized gamefish like [[striped marlin]].{{citation needed|date=July 2022}}

In Ireland, catch and release has been used as a conservation tool for Atlantic salmon and sea trout fisheries since 2003. A number of fisheries now have mandatory catch and release regulations.<ref>[http://www.cfb.ie/fishing_in_ireland/CatchandRelease.htm Catch and Release for Atlantic Salmon] Central Fisheries Board Website</ref> Catch and release for coarse fish has been used by sport anglers for as long as these species have been fished for on this island. However catch and release for Atlantic salmon has required a huge turn about in how many anglers viewed the salmon angling resource. To encourage anglers to practice catch and release in all fisheries a number of government led incentives have been implemented.<ref>[http://www.cfb.ie/pr/catchandrelease07.htm Catch and Release Incentive Scheme] Central Fisheries Board Website</ref>

In Canada, catch and release is mandatory for some species. Canada also requires in some cases the use of barbless [[Fish hook|hooks]] to facilitate release and minimize injury.{{citation needed|date=July 2022}}

In Switzerland and Germany, catch and release fishing is considered inhumane and is now banned.<ref>[https://archive.today/20110716065341/http://www.ussportsmen.org/NETCOMMUNITY/Page.aspx?pid=929&srcid=55&srctid=1&e Animal Rights Law Passed in Switzerland – Catch and Release Fishing Banned]</ref> In Germany, the ''Animal Welfare Act'' states that ''"no-one may cause an animal pain, suffering or harm without good reason"''.<ref>[https://www.animallaw.info/statute/germany-cruelty-german-animal-welfare-act German Animal Welfare Act]</ref> This leaves no legal basis for catch and release due to its argued inherent lack of "good reason", and thus personal fishing is solely allowed for immediate food consumption. Additionally, it is against the law to release fish back into the water if they are above minimum size requirements and are not a [[protected species]] or in [[closed season]].

In 2011, the [[National Park Service]] in [[Yellowstone National Park]] began reversing decades of regulation that promoted catch and release and other techniques that protected fish populations. In the name of native fish conservation, they began mandatory kill regulations on [[rainbow trout|rainbow]] and [[brook trout]] in the [[Lamar River]] drainage and encouraged unlimited taking and disposal of non-native species, including [[brown trout]] in some park waters.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.foxnews.com/us/reluctant-anglers-drafted-in-war-on-fish |title=Reluctant anglers drafted in war on fish |publisher=Fox News |access-date=January 26, 2016|date=2015-03-25}}</ref><ref name=YNPFishReg>{{cite web |url=https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/upload/15FishReg_revisionTW.pdf |title=2015 Yellowstone National Park Fishing Regulations |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=2014-04-13}}</ref>