Code of Conduct Sport Fishing

Treatment of fish

• Try to prevent the hook from being swallowed
• Touch caught fish with wet hands only
• Dispose hooks with the utmost of care

Lead

• Lead does not belong in the natural environment. It is dangerous to humans and animals. Use lead therefore as little as possible and avoid loosing it. Important recommendations are:
• Only buy lead weight dispensers that dispense one weight at a time
• Only use soft lead weights; these are easy to remove from the line and can be used several times
• To reduce the loss of lead, make use of an artificial bait rescuer when using artificial bait that contains lead
• Dispose of lead that is no to be longer used at the municipal chemical waste depot.

Keepnets
Based on research it appears that the use of a keepnet doesn't necessarily have to be detrimental to fish that are kept. In general, however, the less a fish is handled the smaller the chance of damage is. Every additional handling means an additional risk. Therefore, only use a keepnet if it is absolutely necessary. If you wish to use a keepnet or if your net needs replacing, select a keepnet with the following characteristics:

• a diameter of 40 cm or more
• a length of 2.5 meter or more
• a maximum mesh width of 6 mm
• made knot-free
• made from soft material
• provided with sufficient hoops to lay it out properly

When using a keepnet ensure that:

• as big a part of the net as possible is under the water so that the fish can utilize its volume
• the keepnet is preferably extended out horizontally rather than vertically
• damage to fish is prevented by not allowing waves to affect the keepnet
• fish remain in the net for as little time as possible
• there are not too many fish in the keepnet
• the keepnet is emptied carefully

Code of Conduct Dutch Carp Study Group

Outside the normally applicable rules there are a number of specific rules for carp anglers:

• Only fish with fish-safe systems
• Always use an unhooking mat when unhooking and photographing
• Keep the fish wet when unhooking and photographing
• Act responsibly with the use of storage bags
• Return the carp to the water where it was caught