Recent Study Questions The Impacts Of Fishing Technology - The Fisherman

Recent Study Questions The Impacts Of Fishing Technology

There is no denying that technology is driving the development of new fishing products. Anglers in 2021 have so many resources and techy tools at their disposal that fishermen, even just a few years ago did not. Look at the possibilities opened up by drones, sidescan and spotlock alone! And there’s more to it than just the high-tech gadgetry, electric reels, battery-powered lures and social media are all combining to ensure that more people are catching more fish.

This begs the questions: are these advancements good for fishing? And what impacts are they having on the fish themselves? At least one of the professors leading the charge on a new study taking a hard look at the impacts of tech on fish, fishing and the ecosystem, says these issues need to be addressed and fast.

Steven Cooke, Professor of Fish Ecology at Carleton University’s Department of Biology and the study’s lead author, says: “From improvements in finding and catching fish, to emulating their natural prey and accessing previously inaccessible waters, to anglers sharing their exploits with others, technology is completely changing all aspects of recreational fishing.”

One of the paper’s co-authors is Andy Danylchuk, Professor of Fish Conservation at the University of Massachusetts’ Department of Environmental Conservation and he contends that, “There are still many unknowns, [but] if science can’t keep up in terms of evaluating the impacts of technological innovation to help inform management and policy makers, it could be really detrimental to the fish, which may ultimately mean fewer fish and a worse fishing experience for anglers.” Danylchuk, believes advancing technology is a growing issue that needs to be addressed by fisheries management and policy makers.

Social media has also had a big impact as anglers share their experiences online, other fishermen figure out where the catch was made and flock to the hotspot in the hopes of finding their own ‘sharable moment.’ This was exacerbated by the hordes of new anglers that found the sport during the COVID-19 pandemic. Even the invention of the ‘smartphone’ has impacted fisheries around the globe as anglers share their experiences in real time and communicate successful fishing to friends in the moment, leading to more lines in the water and more fish caught as a result.

The report concludes that fisheries research and management groups need to be more aware of the impact of high-tech fishing products. “An important message here is that resource management agencies need to share their experiences and that scientists should more intensively study the impact of innovations in recreational fishing,” write the study’s authors.

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