Editing Angling (section)

== Laws and regulations ==
{{main|Fisheries law|Fishing license}}
[[File:angler at devizes england arp.jpg|alt=Man seated at the side of the water surrounded by fishing rods and tackle.|thumb|right|An angler on the [[Kennet and Avon Canal]], England, with his fishing tackle]]
Laws and regulations managing angling vary greatly, often regionally, within countries. These commonly include permits (licences), closed periods (seasons) where specific species are unavailable for harvest, restrictions on gear types, and [[Individual Fishing Quota|quota]]s.

Laws generally prohibit catching fish with hooks other than in the mouth (i.e. [[snagging]], or "foul hooking" and "jagging"<ref>[http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fisheries/recreational/regulations/fw/illegal Illegal fishing methods]. NSW Government Industry and Investment. Retrieved 8 January 2010.</ref>) or the use of [[fishing net|net]]s and [[fishing gaff|hand hook]]s other than as an aid in landing a captured fish. Some species, such as [[bait fish]], may be taken with nets, and a few for food. Sometimes, [[rough fish|non-sport fish]] are considered of lesser value and it may be permissible to take them by methods like snagging, [[bowfishing|bow and arrow]] or [[spearfishing|spearing]], none of which fall under the definition of angling since they do not rely upon the use of a hook and line.

===Fishing seasons===
{{see|Moratorium (law)}}
Fishing seasons are set by countries or localities to indicate what kinds of fish may be caught during [[sport fishing]] (also known as angling) for a certain period of time. Fishing seasons are enforced (usually by [[water police]]) to maintain ecological balance and to protect species of fish during their [[spawn (biology)|spawning]] period during which they are easier to catch and more physiologically vulnerable.

=== Slot limits ===
{{main|Slot limit|Individual fishing quota}}
Slot limits prohibit the harvest of fish where the [[fish measurement|measured length]]s (from the [[snout]] to the end of the [[Caudal fin|tail fin]]) fall within a protected interval.<ref>Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. "Minnesota Fishing Regulations 2011". 2011.</ref> These are put in action to help protect certain fish (usually [[juvenile fish|juvenile]]) in a given area. They generally require anglers to [[catch and release|release captured fish]] if they fall within a given size range, allowing anglers to keep only smaller (though rare) or larger fish.<ref name="fla">{{cite web|title=Fishing limits – What is a slot limit?|url=http://myfwc.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1136/~/fishing-limits---what-is-a-slot-limit%3F|publisher=Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission|access-date=20 October 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121208060406/http://myfwc.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1136/~/fishing-limits---what-is-a-slot-limit|archive-date=8 December 2012}}</ref><ref name="ks">{{cite web|title=What are slot limits?|url=http://www.kdwpt.state.ks.us/news/Fishing/Fishing-FAQ/License-and-Regulation-Questions/What-are-slot-limits|publisher=Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism|access-date=20 October 2011}}</ref> Slot limits vary from water to water depending on what local officials believe would produce the best outcome for managing fish populations.

Individual fishing quota (IFQ), also known as individual transferable quota (ITQ), is a kind of ''[[catch share]]'' that sets a [[species]]-specific [[Common Fisheries Policy#Total allowable catch|total allowable catch]] (TAC), typically by weight and for a given time period. A dedicated portion of the TAC (called "quota share") is then allocated to individual fishermen, and can typically be transferable (i.e. bought, sold or leased). As of 2008, 148 major fisheries (generally, a single species in a single [[fishing ground]]) around the world had adopted some variant of this approach,<ref name=mfl>{{cite web|url=http://fiesta.bren.ucsb.edu/~costello/research/CatchShares/ITQ_Managed_Fisheries_List_Map.pdf|title=ITQ Managed Fisheries List Map|access-date=May 3, 2010|first1=Christopher |last1=Costello |first2=Steven D. |last2=Gaines |first3=John |last3=Lynham|year=2008}}</ref> along with approximately 100 smaller fisheries in individual countries. Approximately 10% of the marine harvest was managed by ITQs as of 2008.<ref name=chu>{{cite journal|last=Chu |first=Cindy|year=2008|journal=Fish and Fisheries|volume=10|issue=2|pages=217–230|title=Thirty years later: the global growth of ITQs and their influence on stock status in marine fisheries|doi=10.1111/j.1467-2979.2008.00313.x}}</ref>{{rp|218}} The first countries to adopt individual fishing quotas were the [[Netherlands]], [[Iceland]] and Canada in the late 1970s, and the most recent is the United States Scallop General Category IFQ Program in 2010<ref name="NOAA">{{cite web |year=2010 |title=Catch Share Spotlight No. 15 Scallop General Category IFQ Program |url=http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/domes_fish/catchshare/docs/scallop_general_category_ifq2010.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100812020727/http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/domes_fish/catchshare/docs/scallop_general_category_ifq2010.pdf |archive-date=2010-08-12 |access-date=May 3, 2010}}</ref> The first country to adopt individual transferable quotas as a national policy was New Zealand in 1986.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Lock |first1=Kelly |last2=Leslie |first2=Stefan |date=April 2007 |title=New Zealand's Quota Management System: A History of the First 20 Years |journal=Motu Working Paper No. 07-02 |publisher=[[Social Science Research Network]] |ssrn=978115}}</ref>

=== Minimum landing size ===
{{main|Minimum landing size}}
The minimum landing size (MLS) is the smallest [[fish measurement]] at which it is legal for the fisherman to keep a captured fish. The MLS depends on the species of fish, and allowed sizes also vary around the world, as they are legal definitions which are defined by the local regulatory authority.<ref>{{Cite journal |doi=10.1016/j.fishres.2004.05.011 |title=A modelling approach for assessing short-term catch losses as a consequence of a mesh size increase |date=2004 |last1=Tschernij |first1=Vesa |last2=Suuronen |first2=Petri |last3=Jounela |first3=Pekka |journal=Fisheries Research |volume=69 |issue=3 |pages=399–406 |bibcode=2004FishR..69..399T }}</ref>

The idea behind this limitation is that only the older, more mature adult fish get taken, leaving growing [[juvenile fish|juvenile]]s behind to continue breeding and propagating their species. There is some criticism of this legal requirement, however, as it applies [[artificial selection|artificial]] [[selection pressure]] to the fish population (see [[Fisheries-induced evolution]]) unless the anglers voluntarily practise [[catch and release]] indiscriminate of sizes. As larger fish (whose survival has been more successful so far) get taken out of the population, the genes for larger size are reduced or removed from the [[gene pool]], while fish that mature at a smaller size survive longer to continue breeding, and the average size of fish stock shrinks over time. This has led to a collapse in the amount of catchable fish in some fisheries.<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://www.nature.com/articles/428899a | doi=10.1038/428899a | title=The cod that got away | date=2004 | last1=Hutchings | first1=Jeffrey A. | journal=Nature | volume=428 | issue=6986 | pages=899–900 | url-access=subscription }}</ref>