Protecting Our Fisheries

I was surfing the internet awhile back and came across a great website with a fantastic message and philosophy. The site is called Recycled Fish, a movement gaining major momentum among serious anglers who care about our resources. It costs nothing to join in terms of money, only a lifetime commitment of doing certain things differently to help our rivers and lakes for many generations to come. I decided to join and implement this way of life into my daily affairs. I am now aware of the impact I can make on the rivers and lakes by changing my old habits and forming new one’s, habits that will carry on many generations of fishing. 

I know this is a longer post than I normally write but please read the entire article as there will be some things you can do to help this cause and help our fisheries. I can make a difference and so can you. I am not trying to force this on anyone; I am simply passing on great information to those who care about our fisheries! Please pass this on as I have done. Let’s make a difference shall we!

Here is there philosophy.

“Limit Your Catch – Don’t Catch Your Limit.” It’s a “catch phrase” that’s “caught on.” When Recycled Fish started back in 2004, spreading the word on Catch and Release and Selective Harvest was our primary message. It’s bigger than that now. Today, we’re a national movement of fisherman who live a lifestyle of stewardship on and off the water.

We’re doing stuff like putting in low flow shower heads and changing how we care for our lawns, because that stuff matters to fisheries as much or more than catch and release. Or it should be said, “Catch and Release alone won’t solve the problems facing our fisheries.” If we want more and bigger fish in our waters, now and for our kids, a lifestyle of stewardship is what it’s going to take, because our lifestyle runs downstream.

Recycled Fish is leading the charge on a “lifestyle of stewardship” among people who love to fish.

Key differences!  

“Aren’t there already a bunch of environmental organizations out there doing this kind of work?” Yes and No.
There are non-profit organizations who are devoted to saving fish and fisheries, both in the oceans and in freshwater. Some are “fisheries advocacy” groups, who try to get laws changed to support fisheries. Many great organizations are doing hands-on projects to help individual fisheries, regions, or species. There are also organizations devoted to the preservation and improvement of sport fishing.

All of this is great! Recycled Fish is different in that we take a holistic approach: we engage anglers to steward the environment as a whole, including fisheries. If the “upstream” environment isn’t healthy, our fisheries can’t be healthy. Fisheries are a “canary in the coal mine” for problems in the broader environment, and right now our fisheries – our lakes, streams and seas and the life in them – are telling us that we’re in trouble. Who will lead the charge for change? Anglers! People who love fisheries, and understand them best. Recycled Fish is the force that ties us all together for the common cause.

You might define us by what we’re excited about:

We’re excited about kids fishing, and we want to see more of it. It’s not just about getting kids on the water, it’s about getting kids on the water and teaching them about how to be stewards, and not just consumers, of the resource. For most of us, many of life’s most important lessons were taught by way of a lake or stream.

We’re excited about companies giving back to the resource, and we are particularly pleased by the companies who have been quick in supporting Recycled Fish.
We’re excited about the widespread popularization of catch and release and selective harvest. When we started, these were our primary message. Five years later, it’s just a part of a bigger story, as anglers on the whole understand their impact and role in fisheries management more clearly now.

We’re excited by the communities that have formed through the internet and technology. Regional and national Fishing Forums as well as websites like AnglersChannel.com and AnglingMasters.com give a voice to individual anglers and allow networking, information, and idea sharing like never before. There are risks and pitfalls with this, like many things, but we believe these communities are good as they will help create common ground and rapid spread of the stewardship ethic.

At the end of the day, here’s our deal.

Recycled Fish is not a “Christian” organization per se. We don’t market ourselves as such, and we don’t include an evangelical or evangelistic message in what we’re doing at this time. But when Teeg Stouffer founded the organization, it was because he believed it to be his Calling. It is born out of that faith that we are called to steward God’s Creation. This is Biblical Truth – we humans have been delegated authority over earth and not just to consume at our whimsy, but to lovingly care for it as a gift. We feel that humankind has been a poor caretaker of “God’s Green Earth.” If you feel specifically led by God to do something to remedy that at this important time in history, Recycled Fish can identify.

So if you wish to help out, take the stewardship pledge now and start making a difference today. You will receive a whole whack of free goodies including food source lures; Folgers coffee singles and if you chose “coldwater” when you sign up, you will receive a copy of Fly Fusion magazine.  

Take the stewardship pledge here.