Catch and release fishing aims to minimize fish mortality but still causes significant welfare harm. Best practices reduce but do not eliminate suffering, raising important questions for recreational anglers.
Catch and release fishing represents a welfare compromise: it reduces mortality compared to harvest but still causes significant individual suffering through hooking, fighting, and handling. The welfare cost is not eliminated by release — it is reduced relative to death. Best practices (barbless hooks, wet hands, minimal air exposure, rapid release, avoiding warm water) are genuine welfare improvements within the practice, but even perfect catch and release causes measurable distress. Anglers who genuinely care about fish welfare should understand the welfare implications of their activities and minimize suffering through best practice. The broader ethical question — whether the recreation justifies the harm — is one each angler must consider.