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