6 ms·

I just literally don't understand catch and release. Your entertainment is to embed a hook in a fish so you can then remove it from the water, remove the hook,

I just literally don't understand catch and release. Your entertainment is to embed a hook in a fish so you can then remove it from the water, remove the hook, and throw it back in the water? Why?

9935c101ab17a66 8y ago
I don't think you understand what literally means. Also, anything can seem absurd if you are extremely reductionist and present it in an uncharitable fashion. (I've never fished before, just some remarks)
- reificator 8y ago
  > I don't think you understand what literally means. > I just literally don't understand [how] catch and release [is entertaining] Is that better? I know the meaning and used the word appropriately. I just left out a few other words because I thought my intent would be clear. But you know, it's trendy to complain about "literally" now so have at it.
- PakG1 8y ago
  You're literally that guy. :D https://xkcd.com/725/ https://xkcd.com/725/
peteretep 8y ago
I don't fish, but: Presumably it's enjoyable to sit in nature, far from distractions, with a variable reward that something happens every hour or so, and occasionally the thing that happens warrants a photo and something you can tell your friends about? A bit like watching cricket, actually.
taneq 8y ago
Torturing fish for fun seems distinctly suspect to me as well.
- reificator 8y ago
  I was careful to not use words related to pain, because whenever you mention that people are quick to claim that fish don't feel pain. Probably because so many people catch & release. I still have yet to see a study on the topic, so maybe they're right. But I doubt it to be honest.
  - taneq 8y ago
    Yeah, I've heard those arguments before and I find them pretty specious. We humans are always super quick to claim that it's ok to do <thing that inflicts pain> on <thing that we want to do it to> because <some reason that thing doesn't actually feel pain anyway>. It's been applied to fish, human infants, black people, and all manner of other creatures that someone wants to inflict something nasty upon.
    - imglorp 8y ago
      Right. I don't think it's about the fish in particular, but that we're training ourselves--practicing even--to be uncompassionate to all things, human or not. We're supposed to be the better species here.
codeulike 8y ago
Never done it but I've always assumed fishing is just about sitting and doing not much in a pleasant place, a form of meditation. Sucks for the fish though.
cturner 8y ago
You set aside your responsibilities, shift into a different mental pattern, and do that for a few hours. There are species of trout and salmon that are savvy at distinguishing between a piece of food and a hook disguised as one. Catching one can be a game over several hours. Once you have caught a fish, you put it back for your mates later on. The reason for putting the fish back is that - often - more work goes into stocking the fisheries than than into fishing them. It is a bit like owning a boat. Courses of fish populations are repopulated through dedicated hatcheries, run by the fishing groups. Also, there is a pokemon dynamic to creating your library of lures.
- specialist 8y ago
  Pokemon analogy is terrific.

I just literally don't understand catch and release. Your entertainment is to embed a hook in a fish so you can then remove it from the water, remove the hook, and throw it back in the water? Why?

9935c101ab17a66 8y ago

I don't think you understand what literally means. Also, anything can seem absurd if you are extremely reductionist and present it in an uncharitable fashion. (I've never fished before, just some remarks)

reificator 8y ago
> I don't think you understand what literally means. > I just literally don't understand [how] catch and release [is entertaining] Is that better? I know the meaning and used the word appropriately. I just left out a few other words because I thought my intent would be clear. But you know, it's trendy to complain about "literally" now so have at it.
PakG1 8y ago
You're literally that guy. :D https://xkcd.com/725/ https://xkcd.com/725/

peteretep 8y ago

I don't fish, but: Presumably it's enjoyable to sit in nature, far from distractions, with a variable reward that something happens every hour or so, and occasionally the thing that happens warrants a photo and something you can tell your friends about? A bit like watching cricket, actually.

taneq 8y ago

Torturing fish for fun seems distinctly suspect to me as well.

reificator 8y ago
I was careful to not use words related to pain, because whenever you mention that people are quick to claim that fish don't feel pain. Probably because so many people catch & release. I still have yet to see a study on the topic, so maybe they're right. But I doubt it to be honest.
- taneq 8y ago
  Yeah, I've heard those arguments before and I find them pretty specious. We humans are always super quick to claim that it's ok to do <thing that inflicts pain> on <thing that we want to do it to> because <some reason that thing doesn't actually feel pain anyway>. It's been applied to fish, human infants, black people, and all manner of other creatures that someone wants to inflict something nasty upon.
  - imglorp 8y ago
    Right. I don't think it's about the fish in particular, but that we're training ourselves--practicing even--to be uncompassionate to all things, human or not. We're supposed to be the better species here.

codeulike 8y ago

Never done it but I've always assumed fishing is just about sitting and doing not much in a pleasant place, a form of meditation. Sucks for the fish though.

cturner 8y ago

You set aside your responsibilities, shift into a different mental pattern, and do that for a few hours. There are species of trout and salmon that are savvy at distinguishing between a piece of food and a hook disguised as one. Catching one can be a game over several hours. Once you have caught a fish, you put it back for your mates later on. The reason for putting the fish back is that - often - more work goes into stocking the fisheries than than into fishing them. It is a bit like owning a boat. Courses of fish populations are repopulated through dedicated hatcheries, run by the fishing groups. Also, there is a pokemon dynamic to creating your library of lures.

specialist 8y ago
Pokemon analogy is terrific.