Keep Fish Wet is a non-profit that promotes the safe release of fish in the best form possible in order to guarantee their survival.  It has become a motto and a hashtag that promotes best practices as it relates to catching and releasing fish by minimizing their exposure to air, contact with dry surfaces and handling by the fisherman.  The members of CRAFF-ACPM have adopted Keep Fish Wet as part of our group values.  The goal is to minimize impact on the fish during Catch and Release. For more information, please visit  www.keepfishwet.org

KEEP FISH WET PRINCIPLES

PRINCIPLES 1: MINIMIZE AIR EXPOSURE

Just like humans, fish need oxygen to support essential bodily functions and keep them alive.  What’s different is that fish get their oxygen from the water (it is dissolved), not the air.  Fish respiration (“breathing”) involves moving water into their mouth and over their gills, whether by pumping it or when swimming with their mouths open. Also like humans, fish need to respire more during and after exercise, including when they are fighting on the end of a fishing line, as well as after they are landed.  Maximizing the ability for fish to get oxygen when they are recovering from the stress of angling is essential for a speedy recovery. Holding a fish out of the water prevents recovery and can lead to death if done for too long. Even short durations of air exposure (as little as 10-20 seconds for some species) can harm fish. You can reduce negative impacts by keeping a fish’s mouth and gills fully submerged in water as much as possible. 

PRINCIPLE 2: ELIMINATE CONTACT WITH DRY SURFACES

Fish have a layer of protective mucus (slime) and scales that protects them from disease. Contact with dry, hard, or rough surfaces (such as hands, rocks, sand, and boat bottoms) can remove slime and scales making fish more susceptible to diseases, especially fungal infections. Keeping fish in or over the water, and holding them with clean, wet hands or a soft rubber net will help keep their slime layer and scales intact and the fish disease free.

PRINCIPLE 3: REDUCE HANDLING TIME

Fish are wild animals and handling is stressful for them, whether they are in your hands or in a net.  Most fish that are brought to hand are still amped up based on the release of glucose to fuel their ‘fight or flight’ response to being caught.  It can take hours for a fish to physiologically return to normal once it is released.  The longer you handle a fish, the more stressful it is for them, which compounds the stress associated with capture.  

Don’t confuse seeing a fish ‘swim away just fine’ as a sign that it has completely recovered.  If you are not going to take a photo of your catch, consider releasing the fish without touching or netting them.  Run your hand down the line and remove the hook – something made even easier if the hook is barbless.  

KEEP FISH WET TIPS

TIP #1: Reduce time fighting fish.  By reducing the fight, a fish will have a higher chance of survival. 

TIP #2: Follow your local regulations. In some areas, it is illegal to take fish out of the wáter, or there are seasonal moratoriums.  Know your local rules and respect them.

TIP #3: Keep the fish over the water surface.  Fish are slippery, so if you happen to drop a fish, it is better for their survival that they fall into the water versus falling on a dry or hard Surface. 

TIP #4: Use barbless hooks.

TIP #5: Use rubber nets. Rubber nets are less damaging to the fish than other materials.

TIP #6: Always carry forceps or other hook removal tool. Sometimes fish swallow flies and they end up Deep in the fish’s mouth. An appropriate tool to remove those flies will minimize stress for the fish during the removal process.

TIP #7: Take pictures of wet fish. Keep fish wet!  Even better if you take that picture with the fish in the water.

TIP #8: Hold the fish gently.  A fish has very delicate internal organs and excessive or rough treatment of the fish may affect its eventual survival after release.

TIP #: Only revive fish that cannot swim away. A fish will do better recovering in its natural habitat unless it cannot swim away on its own.