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RE: Now Never returned to the wild

On Thu, 9 Jul 1998, Hemsath, Gay wrote:

> If the word is "Once Caught, Once Bought, NEVER Returned to the Wild"
> under any circumstances then I believe that strictly adhering to this
> motto will put a stop to all restocking efforts by any organization or
> individual of any and all waters.

Wo wo wo wo.  Let's go back to square one here, no one is saying that at all. 
Since we have gone around in circles and gone down several tangents here
are the basic points I was trying to make (and I will leave it at that). 

If you take a fish from a waterbody and bring it home to your aquarium it
should not be rereleased back to the site of capture due to the small, but
potential risk involved in doing so.  That's all.  Part of my reason for being
so adament on this is we seem to mostly agree that this is a risk, albeit very
small.  To me, it is a very simple risk to avoid, just don't do it.  That
doesn't make it a law or whatever.  It is a moral stand an individual can
choose to take.  I think just stating this will make some folks more aware of
the potential problem as many folks don't even realize the risk exists.  To me
it is educational.  I don't think stating such a thing will turn people away
from an organization except for perhaps the odd extreme individual (and I'm
not trying to suggest anyone here is as I think we have all been pretty
rational throughout this whole debate).

Conservation (and sport fishing) will always likely require to some degree
that fish are raised in captivity, be it a hatchery or hobbyist setup.  No one
is advocating against this.  My only point here would be to have the fish
thoroughly examined by a qualified vet before release as the last thing one
wants to do is add disease to already threatened populations.  At present this
is not always done which I think is against all logical arguement (it just
comes down to $$ and apathy). You should see what the trout hatchery folks are
doing now after the horse has bolted (re whirling disease).  It's not in
anyones interests to spread disease whether accidentally or otherwise.  The
trout lobby is very strongly leaning on the hatchery folks to improve their
act.

I guess some could suggest that I have been trying to inplant myself into NFC
policy making or whatever.  I can easily see how this could be construed and I
apologise if I have come across that way it was not my direct intent although
I will readily admit I think it is one they would be wise to consider very
carefully which I have the utmost confidence they will do as they progress as
Robert has already stated. My main point has been to tackle the arguements
made against my position in a rational logical fashion.  I am not trying to
insult or attack anyone or any group, just have a lively debate so these
issues can be well and truely thrashed out.  Many good points have been made
on both sides.  Hopefully we can take those and move forwards.

Cheers
Peter Unmack
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