Every year when the billfish bite heats up, we begin to see the reports roll in. Inevitably someone will post a picture of a couple of people proudly holding up a billfish for a picture and in the report they say the released the fish. I am surprised, when told, how many people are surprised to find to that they are breaking the law. Many tell me they read the fishing regulations for South Carolina and did not see anything saying it is illegal to take a billfish out of the water and then release it.
This law is actually a federal law and the intent it to cause minimal damage to these fish by keeping them in the water throughout the catch and release process. While many people say this is a law that is impossible to enforce, I believe the intent is to get people thinking more about handling these fish in a manner that will allow the fish its best chance of survival. When I went searching for this law it took me a little time to actually find it, but the following is straight from NOAA’s website where this is addressed:
NMFS strongly encourages releasing all billfish alive. An Atlantic billfish harvested from its management unit that is not retained must be released in a manner that will ensure maximum probability of survival, but without removing the fish from the water.
The link to this page is the following: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/Compliance_Guide/Rec/Rec_Compliance_Guide_Total.pdf
If you are going to fish on the big pond, you must know state laws, as well as, federal laws when it comes to fishing regulations. It is clearly stated on both pages that ignorance of the law is no excuse that it is your personal responsibility to know and abide by these laws.
Andy Pickett
CharlestonFishing.Com</font id=“blue”>