Carefree_Dude;4975879; said:
Nah, just given the standard alien anal probe thing, didn't you see independence day? Man am I glad I excelled in power lifting and wrestling!
the culling of fish
- Thread starter smarchant22
- Start date
Nah, just given the standard alien anal probe thing, didn't you see independence day? Man am I glad I excelled in power lifting and wrestling!
smarchant22;4973929; said:
Dude, I got reamed up one side and down the other for even suggesting something as "humane" as you suggest.
Believe it or not, there are LAWS on the books in the fishing sport where you are a serious CRIMINAL and can be HEAVILY fined for NOT culling certain aquatic species. In Maryland if you happen to catch a snakehead you MUST cull it BY LAW!
You are also often not allowed to "not cull" unused bait, in that it is ILLEGAL to release "let live" into Maryland waters.
I have filleted bazillions of fish and am not squeamish or anything, and I am not even that much of an outstanding moral specimen, but I think that it is wrong to FORCE people to cull!
Given your serious desire NOT to cull fish, don't ever get into sport fishing sir!
screaminleeman;4976084; said:Dude, I got reamed up one side and down the other for even suggesting something as "humane" as you suggest.
Believe it or not, there are LAWS on the books in the fishing sport where you are a serious CRIMINAL and can be HEAVILY fined for NOT culling certain aquatic species. In Maryland if you happen to catch a snakehead you MUST cull it BY LAW!
You are also often not allowed to "not cull" unused bait, in that it is ILLEGAL to release "let live" into Maryland waters.
I have filleted bazillions of fish and am not squeamish or anything, and I am not even that much of an outstanding moral specimen, but I think that it is wrong to FORCE people to cull!
Given your serious desire NOT to cull fish, don't ever get into sport fishing sir!
Culling in the scenarios you gave is to preserve native ecosystems by preventing non-native species from destroying the ecology in place by human introduction. This is different than the culling of fish to preserve the genetic vigor of a species, which is what has been discussed thus far in this thread.
Snakeheads are a huge issue in this regard due to their ability to rapidly reproduce and their aggressive carnivorous behavior. No other fish of equal or smaller size stands a chance.
I understand why you would be opposed to, for example, culling a snakehead you happened to catch because this is forcing you to act on behalf of someone else's previous mistake of introducing non-natives. However, I hope you understand the reasons for implementing such laws.
I cannot however understand why you have a problem with preventing the introduction of live bait into lakes, rivers, ponds, etc. This is exactly what leads to non-native species destroying the established native balance, resulting in the culling laws such as those with non-native snakeheads that you are opposed to.
So yes, you are absolutely correct when you say that you shouldn't fish if you don't understand the implications of releasing live bait (or any fish in general) into your local waters.
JK47;4974677; said:^ agreed. An evil, but none the less a needed one.. The most important part of the above comment, being keeping the gene pool strong. Not everyone is comfortable with the idea but like it or not it is necessary and serves a needed purpose. If your able to rescue an indevidiual fish, hats off to you and good looking out! This is just not always an option in larger scale operations.
Hopefully no one with issues with the thought of culling is a big fan of chicken nuggets
i love chicken nuggets. im gonna go get a 20 and large fries right now!
To the OP, culling is an unfortunate necessity in the ornamental fish industry. Billions upon billions of fish are spawned and raised every year for the pet trade. Because they are placed in a captive setting where their habitats are filtered and they're fed an abnormally large amount, almost everyone gets a shot at life. This is very different from a wild natural environment, where maybe 5% of a spawn might live past the fry stage. Because the industry raises so many fish, the smallest/weakest/least colorful (and those with deformities) are culled. This is the industry's way of influencing the gene pool and eliminating those fish which are less marketable. With some koi varieties, as much as 99% are culled. Yes it's sad. But it's a problem created by people, resulting in way too many fish.
Once a fish reaches its pet home, I don't think culling is needed. You're obviously giving your discus a good home, and it looks to be eating and functionally normally. I would only cull a pet fish if it was suffering. Your fish doesn't look to be suffering. Now, since you have what some people might consider to be a poor representation of the species, that fish probably shouldn't be bred because it has the chance of passing on sub-optimal traits to offspring which would then be spread throughout the pet trade through other owners. As long as your fish is happy and doing well in your tank, you shouldn't feel the need to cull it.
Some of my personal favorite pets have been handicapped or ugly in some way, but they've lived long, full lives. Yours will likely do the same!
Once a fish reaches its pet home, I don't think culling is needed. You're obviously giving your discus a good home, and it looks to be eating and functionally normally. I would only cull a pet fish if it was suffering. Your fish doesn't look to be suffering. Now, since you have what some people might consider to be a poor representation of the species, that fish probably shouldn't be bred because it has the chance of passing on sub-optimal traits to offspring which would then be spread throughout the pet trade through other owners. As long as your fish is happy and doing well in your tank, you shouldn't feel the need to cull it.
Some of my personal favorite pets have been handicapped or ugly in some way, but they've lived long, full lives. Yours will likely do the same!
This. No need to get all PETA about it. It's a necessary evil.bigbadfish711;4974193;4974193 said:
i see the good and the bad, to me i just dont like the idea of killing a fish because its ugly or deformed, some people say it will save the breed or if im serious i will understand it, however even if I, a small time fish lover happens to have a deformed fish breed with a good looking one then maybe some of them wont be deformed, its the same with humans, just because i have brown hair, doesnt mean my child will, same with deformities it doesnt always happen. on top of that even if my fish does breed what is that really doing to the trade? giving me more deformed fish who would never have a chance to live? maybe i am just talking out of my a** and sounding super stupid but i dont know, maybe its because im only a year into aquariums that i dont truly understand it and need to let go a bit thats why i started this thread for perspective and to throw in my 2 cents.
