Hunting, Fishing and Ecotourism
November 15th, 2007 by Barbara Soldi
In the past month I have been following an interesting poll on the Ecoclub forum posing the question: Is Hunting Tourism part of Ecotourism?
I am quite shocked about the current results. After over a month from the publication of the poll, against 14 ecotourism operators who voted ‘Never’ 16 members actually voted ‘Depends’ (there is also one who voted ‘always’ but I like to think he either pressed the wrong button or joined the wrong club).
You can read yourself the reasons of the ‘depends’, I personally found them all pretty poor, but then – I have to admit – I am a bit of a hypocritical myself… I am supporting organizations for the protection of animals, but I am not vegetarian and – most important – I have published fishing tours in my catalogue!
Is fishing ‘more acceptable’ than hunting? I don’t think so; I have never even liked the expression ‘sport fishing’… what sort of sport is that? It does not keep you fit and still involves capturing and killing wild animals.
The only time in my life I went fishing I did not like it. It was in Bahia LA, Baja California, where I was invited to a fishing trip. I accepted because I liked the idea of a sunrise boat ride, and I did not think I would try holding the fishing rod, but I eventually did.
The guy who took me on tour was very nice and I enjoyed his company, but when I caught my first fish and I saw him taking it on board and sticking a hook in it, the blood dripping from that fish still flapping around produced a very unpleasant sensation at the bottom of my stomach. I know, this is again hypocritical, because I love fish and seafood and I certainly enjoyed that Bonito for dinner. How do I think they fish those dead bodies I buy in the market?
But I have decided I will take fishing trips off my website. Some of them are offered by ecotourism guides I know personally and I am 100% sure about their commitment to the conservation of the environment, but in the end that feeling in my stomach warned me that what I had just done was not exactly an ‘eco’ practice.
I think our oceans are being over-fished enough without the necessity of us promoting ‘sport fishing’ as a holiday entertainment.
November 19th, 2007 at 1:35 am
There is often a great conservation ethic in hunting, but to call it ecotourism is a mistake. Kudos to ECOCLUB for hosting such a valuable exchange.
December 14th, 2007 at 4:26 am
Hi, it’s me again climbing back up on my soapbox.
Well, once again Barbara, you’ve hit on a subject that I have quite a bit to say about. You can always hit the back button or delete key as you see fit ;-}.
I have been an avid fisherman all my life since the first time, I was about five, that I pulled a 6 inch long Rudd out of a small pond in England and it was such a beautiful creature to see that I was instantly hooked myself. We never ate any of the fish we caught when I was a child in England, mostly because they were probably inedible no doubt, but I went fishing every chance I got. Now I am a dive Instructor and have my own dive shop, coincidence? I think not. I tell this little part of a story because I want some people to understand that there is definitely more to fishing than killing for meat for many millions of people around the world. Fishing is one of the most popular outdoors activities in the UK and almost all of those fishermen are exclusively practicing catch and release.
I went through a phase myself when I did kill and eat many fish, mostly in Canada but also in the USA and The Bahamas and I mostly regret that now.
For me the pleasure of paddling quietly along a lake at dawn to sneak up on a good fishing spot, trolling a lure as you go or humping a small aluminum boat through the shallows on a small river to spend a day on an inaccessible river fishing away the hours or even trolling along on a rough day on the ocean waiting for that big hit are all some of my most cherished memories and it has nothing to do with killing or eating fish. I don’t really even understand the lure of it (sic) myself.
Barbara, I don’t think you should necessarily take fishing tours off your site. I do think though that you should only be promoting catch and release operators. Yes they may still kill some fish, but the increased awareness of wildlife and the great outdoors that many fisherman gain from spending time in a new area could possibly be a powerful resource for assistance in the protection of that local environment. Almost all flats fishing operators that are pursuing Bonefish, Tarpon and Permit are for instance a pretty safe bet that they are releasing almost all that they catch. In many of the places where this kind of fishing is done it becomes a very significant part of the local economy and gives locals a vested interest in preserving the flats’ health. It also gives them some cash income that they can live from instead of what in many instances would be the only other alternative, commercial fishing. by contrast, very few Deep Sea charter operators however release anything other than billfish (Marlin and Sailfish) and some will kill even those, so if it matters to you, know who and what you are dealing with and support only catch and release fishing and in my opinion you will be promoting awareness of the importance of conservation that can have far reaching effects.
As Ron says, calling it ecotourism may not be correct but that is a label that is overused in any case.
All that aside, in my opinion, we all need to eat a lot less or no fish or else our rivers, lakes, seas and oceans are going to die, especially with modern commercial techniques.
As you may have guessed, I could go on like this for hours but then everyone would stop reading which would defeat the purpose.
Recommended reading on sustainable fishing:
The Unnatural History of the Sea by Callum Roberts also on the web
Comments any one?
May 12th, 2008 at 8:56 pm
I agree, ecotourism is a broad description that doesn’t mesh well with hunting. Yet, when it comes down to survival, would you rather go fishing and live or die of starvation? This may not seem relevant, but it is, when we have world hunger issues. We just need to figure out a way to send more of our food to people who cannot obtain it easily.
May 13th, 2008 at 7:30 am
Thanks for your comment.
We are not talking about the locals going fishing to eat, we are talking about charging travellers to ’sport’ fishing, whereas we could offer them some other forms of entertainment involving conservation rather than killing, like wildlife watching. I am afraid I do not consider fishing a ‘recreational’ activity.