Recreational angling causes welfare impacts beyond catch-and-release — including the welfare of bait animals and non-target species caught and released.
Recreational angling welfare extends beyond the target fish to the bait organisms used to catch them. The welfare hierarchy of bait is roughly: artificial lures have no welfare cost; dead bait has minimal acute cost; worms and maggots have uncertain but probably very low sentience; live fish have clear welfare costs proportional to their sentience capacity. Welfare-conscious anglers use the minimum welfare-cost bait consistent with their fishing goal and handle all caught fish — including non-target bycatch — with the same care applied to target species. The totality of angling welfare should include all organisms harmed, not just the fish ultimately caught or released.