Editing Game fish

{{Short description|Popular fish targeted in recreational fishing}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
[[File:Photography by Victor Albert Grigas (1919-2017)00037 Hatteras 1949 (36884488103).jpg|thumb|Big-game saltwater fish caught off of [[Cape Hatteras]] in 1949]]
[[File:PB-LMB.jpg|thumb|[[Largemouth bass]] is one of the most popular game fish in [[North America]]]]
'''Game fish''', '''sport fish''' or '''quarry''' refer to popular [[fish]] species pursued by [[recreational fishing|recreational fishers]] (typically [[angling|anglers]]), and can be [[freshwater fish|freshwater]] or [[saltwater fish]].  Game fish can be [[fish as food|eaten after being caught]], preserved as [[taxidermy]] (though rare), or [[catch and release|released after capture]].  Some game fish are also targeted [[commercial fishing|commercially]], particularly less bony species such as [[salmon]] and [[tuna]].

Specimens of game fish whose [[fish measurement|measurement]]s (body length and [[standard weight in fish|weight]]) significantly exceed the species' average are sometimes known as '''trophy fish''', as such captures are often presented as [[bragging rights]] among fishers.{{Citation needed|date=October 2023}}

==Examples==
{{main|List of freshwater game fish|List of marine game fish}}
[[File:Striped Blue Marlin.jpg|thumb|[[Marlin]]s are popular blue-water game fish]]
[[File:Esox lucius ZOO 1.jpg|thumb|The [[Esox|pike]] is a classic freshwater game fish]]
[[File:Pan-fried-fish.jpg|thumb|Cooking panfish]]
The species of fish prized by anglers varies with geography and tradition. Some fish are sought for their value as [[seafood|food]], while others are pursued for their fighting abilities, or for the difficulty of successfully enticing the fish to bite the [[fish hook|hook]].
* [[Big-game fishing|Big-game fish]] or [[blue water]] game fish are large [[pelagic]] [[saltwater fish]] such as [[tuna]], [[tarpon]], [[grouper]] and [[billfish]] ([[sailfish]], [[marlin]] and [[swordfish]]). Occasionally other [[predatory fish]]es such as [[shark]]s, [[barracuda]] and [[dolphinfish]] are also pursued. Large powerful [[freshwater fish]] such as [[alligator gar]], [[lake sturgeon]] and [[flathead catfish]] can also be considered big-game fish.
* Freshwater fish targeted by anglers in [[North America]] include [[bass (fish)|bass]] (especially [[black bass]]), [[salmon]]/[[trout]], [[Salvelinus|char]], [[walleye]]/[[sauger]], [[common snook]], [[red drum|redfish]], [[northern pike]] and [[muskellunge]], [[sturgeon]], [[gar]] and several [[catfish]] species. In [[Europe]] and [[Asia]], large [[cyprinid]]s (e.g. [[carp]]s, [[barbel (fish)|barbel]]s, [[bream]]s, [[chub]]s, [[Leuciscus|dace]]s and [[tench]]), [[perch]]es, freshwater [[salmonid]]s (trout, [[Thymallus|grayling]]s, [[Coregoninae|whitefish]] and [[taimen]]), [[freshwater drum|drum]], [[Esox|pike]]s, catfish, [[eel]]s and [[snakehead (fish)|snakehead]]s are also popular, although many of them are regarded derogatorily as "[[trash fish]]", "dirt fish" or "[[pest (organism)|pest]] fish" in America.
** In the [[United Kingdom]], "game fish" refers specifically to salmonids other than graylings &ndash; that is, [[salmon]], [[trout]] and [[Salvelinus|char]].  Other popular freshwater fish are called [[coarse fishing|coarse fish]].
* Small/medium-sized freshwater fish routinely sought by anglers are called [[panfish]] in the [[United States]], because they typically can fit wholly into a normal [[cooking pan]] without needing to be [[fish steak|cut]] or [[fish fillet|fillet]]ed. Examples are [[crappie]]s, [[yellow perch]], [[rock bass]], [[bluegill]]s and [[Lepomis|other sunfish]] ([[Centrarchidae]]). Panfish are often sought by younger, more inexperienced anglers, at least partly due to their proactivity to feed and the relative ease to be caught; although adult anglers sometimes consider them as "nuisance fish" due to their tendency to opportunistically strike the [[fishing bait|bait]]s/[[fishing lure|lure]]s intended for other larger fishes.

Some popular game fish have been [[introduced species|introduced]] and [[fish stocking|stocked]] worldwide.  [[Rainbow trout]], for instance, can be found nearly anywhere the [[climate]] is appropriate, from their [[native range]] on the [[Pacific Coast]] of [[North America]] to the [[mountains]] of southern [[Africa]],<ref name=skel01>{{cite book|last1=Skelton|first1=Paul|title=A complete guide to the freshwater fishes of southern Africa|date=2001|publisher=Struik|location=Cape Town|isbn=9781868726431|page=72|edition=New|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bURse4a-2m8C&pg=PA72}}{{Dead link|date=May 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> and is now [[100 of the World's Worst Invasive Alien Species|listed as one of the worst]] [[invasive species]].<ref name=100WW>{{cite web|url=http://www.iucngisd.org/gisd/100_worst.php |title=100 of the World's Worst Invasive Alien Species|publisher=Global Invasive Species Database |access-date=5 September 2018}}</ref>

==Game-fish tagging programs==
[[File:Mark Cantrell tagging a fish (8696825616).jpg|thumb|Biologists in [[North Carolina]] injecting a [[Moxostoma#Species|sicklefin redhorse]] with an identifying tag]]
{{main|Tag and release}}
As part of the [[catch-and-release]] practice encouraged to promote [[Wildlife management|conservation]], tagging programs were established. Some of their goals are to improve the [[fisheries management|management]] of fishery resources and to keep records on [[fish stocks|abundance]], age, [[population growth rate|growth rate]]s, [[animal migration|migrations]] and [[breed]] [[animal identification|identification]].

Some well-known tagging programs in the United States are the [[South Carolina]] Marine Game Fish Tagging Program and the [[Virginia]] Game Fish Tagging Program. The South Carolina Marine Game Fish Tagging Program began in 1974 and it is now{{when|date=October 2021}}<!--Since what year?--> the largest public tagging program in the [[Southeastern United States]]. Anglers are trained and then receive a tag kit with tags, applicator, and instructions. When they tag a fish, anglers use a reply postcard they receive in advance to send the information on the tag number, tag date, [[Location (geography)|location]], [[species]], and [[Measurement|size]]. This program issues anglers who tag and release 30 or more eligible species within a year a conservation award. When an angler recaptures a tagged fish, they then should report the recapture. If possible, the tag number and the mailing address should be reported, along with the location and date of the recapture, as well with the measurement of the fish. The objective is to provide [[biologists]] with the necessary information to determine growth rate through an accurate measurement.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dnr.sc.gov/marine/pub/seascience/tagfish.html|title=SC Marine Game Fish Tagging Program|access-date=2010-05-07|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100509170801/http://www.dnr.sc.gov/marine/pub/seascience/tagfish.html|archive-date=9 May 2010}}</ref> The Virginia Game Fish Tagging Program started operations in 1995 and keeps records on recaptured fish since then. This is an annual program that starts in January and it is limited to 160 anglers. Anglers receive training workshops in February and March.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://web.vims.edu/adv/recreation/tag/index.html|title=Virginia Game Fish Tagging Program|access-date=2010-05-07|archive-date=24 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210924090005/http://web.vims.edu/adv/recreation/tag/index.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Records==
The official guide to world salt- and [[freshwater]] fish records is the ''World Record Game Fishes'', published annually by the [[International Game Fish Association]] (IGFA), which maintains records for nearly 400 species around the world. The records are categorised, with separate records for juniors, for the type of tackle and line used, for fly fishing, and locality records.<ref>[http://fishing.about.com/library/review/books/blrvigfa.htm Fishing Book Review: ''World Record Game Fishes''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303225209/http://fishing.about.com/library/review/books/blrvigfa.htm |date=3 March 2016 }} About.com. Retrieved 19 April 2009.</ref> The IGFA also organize the world saltwater championship tournaments.<ref>[http://www.igfa.org/tour.asp World Championship Tournaments] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100210041131/http://www.igfa.org/tour.asp |date=10 February 2010 }} – [[International Game Fish Association]]</ref>

==See also==
* {{annotated link|Coarse fishing}}
* {{annotated link|Fishing tournament}}
* {{annotated link|Game (hunting)}}
* {{annotated link|List of freshwater game fish}}
* {{annotated link|List of marine game fish}}
* {{annotated link|Overfishing}}
* {{annotated link|Recreational fishing}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
* Dunn, Bob (2000) ''Saltwater Game Fishes of the World''. Australian Fishing Network.{{ISBN|978-1-86513-010-1}}

{{angling topics}}
{{Fisheries and fishing}}
{{Diversity of fish}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Recreational fishing]]
[[Category:Game fish| ]]

[[pt:Peixe esportivo]]