Let’s talk dirty

By Jim C. Arness

 ** To me, wade fishing is the best way to fish — Immersed in the middle of the environment, entering the domain of my adversary to be on his level.   I love the challenge of being right there in the element with my quarry, immersed in nature, the serenity, the peace and beauty, the solitude of just me, the water and the fish.   Nothing on Earth beats it.  When I’m out there fishing, I am doing more, constantly looking around observing my surroundings, soaking in the experience.  It’s disturbing on these outings to see litter disrupting this serenity — On the shoreline, in the water, back amongst the mangroves, it’s everywhere. 

Now I am not here to throw the blame on the anglers, nor anyone else for that matter.  There are all kinds of people on the water and beaches today, wave-runners, sun-bathers, tourists, recreational boaters, and like it or not, they have just as much of a right to use these waters as we do.  The deal here is that we as anglers stand to lose the most from the littering.  Our sport and recreation depends on having a nice clean healthy eco-system. 

The dictionary (yes I’m quoting from the dictionary, keep reading —  the worst thing is you might learn something)  defines the word eco-system as a system formed by the interaction of a community of organisms with their environment.  Every time we go fishing we enter and become a part of the eco-system, like it or not, know it or not.  Our actions as do those of everyone else, effect that eco-system.  In order for the eco-system to remain healthy and to continue to provide us with the wonderful and bountiful fishing that we are accustomed to we need to do our part. 

Now I know that this is an often trodden subject, which many an environmentalist had beaten into the ground. I also know that this is a case where the actions of a few spoil it for the remainder.  I know many of you are truthfully thinking right now “I never have littered once.”  And to all of you let me be the first to say thank you, I for one truly appreciate your actions to keep the environment clean.  But there is room for improvement. 

Many organizations get together and sponsor “clean-up” programs where they get together and pitch in to clean up a particular area.  What if we as anglers got together as an “organization” and every time we went out fishing, picked up a bit or two of trash that we encounter? Think of how much of a positive impact that would make.  Every angler every day picks up one or two bits of trash.  The waters would be sparkling clean with the smallest of effort by the individual.

I am a wade fisherman, and so I feel that I am in the best situation to pick up trash that I encounter.  But to all of you that own boats why not swing around once to pick up that floating bait bucket or other piece of debris?   The time and fuel lost would be next to nothing.  Or if you see something floating by at your local fishing hole lean over and fish it out.  Scoop out that potato chip bag down on the bottom of the seagrasses if your net will reach. 

Now I too am out there to fish and not play “janitor,” and one could easily make a day of simply cleaning up trash.  I’m not by any means saying that we should all hang up our poles and spend a day just cleaning — I’m not even saying that we should go far out of our way to pick up trash.  But if we find ourselves in a situation that the effort is minimal, the rewards are much more beyond measure.  The fact is I see trash and litter every place I go fishing.  Soda cans, potato chip bags, cups, wrappers all manner of things.  And although it is a very just and noble thought to keep from littering ourselves, it doesn’t clean up the litter that is already there.

Many other people doing many other activities contribute in their own way to the litter.  But I have seen many a lure package and other fishing related trash in my journeys.  But fishermen and only fishermen leave by far the worst, and that is fishing line.  This is biggest killer of marine wildlife and coastal birds, period.

I was wading a small backwaters area at Tampa Bay’s Ft. DeSoto about a year ago when my feet got tangled in some mono-filament fishing line.  Untangling my legs I pulled the remaining line to discover that it was attached to a large rusty treble snatch hook.  This is why I wear sneakers when I go wading not so much the stingrays.  I threw the hook and line in my tackle box and threw it away when I went home.  The entire flat was only 18” deep.  I can think of no other reason than sheer laziness for the reason that hook and line was left there.  This should bother us, infuriate us, this is just something that we as fisherman should not tolerate.

Why?  Because we as fisherman have the most to lose — OUR recreation will be the one to suffer.  People can still ride Jet Ski’s and pleasure boats if they’re aren’t any fish in the bay — wouldn’t bother them at all.  They’re recreation rides over it, our recreation LIVES in it.  Now environmentalists say that nature is in constant balance.  We mustn’t destroy the balance.  They have driven the word “balance” deeper into the ground than any oil drill.  But the core of what they are saying is good.  Tampa Bay, its surrounding waters, forests trees are an ecosystem — quite simple really. 

Our bays are systems of plants, fish, organisms, crustaceans, cetaceans, birds, and other critters that combine to make up a saltwater ecosystem.  This system can be compared to any other.  You wouldn’t add sugar to your car’s gas tank?  Why?  It disrupts the system.  You wouldn’t remove the motherboard from your computer (OK well, you might — depending on how many times it’s frozen when your trying to read the latest on Captain Mel’s website, but not normally) because it would disrupt the system.  If the system is altered too much it doesn’t function anymore. 

All living things in an ecosystem are tied to each other.  Some more dramatically than others but believe me, they are all tied together.  Something effects one, and that effects another and it is a chain reaction.  Mother Nature is on the whole pretty forgiving when you think about it, but everyone has their limits.  If the waters get too polluted or filled with trash it WILL affect our fishing.  And for those that think that this process of pollution will take time and you won’t see any changes in your lifetime so what do you care? 

Remember that thinking like that from people in the past saying “Oh, I’ll keep catching these tarpon, the oceans so full it will never run out,” is why we have bag limits and regulations today.  Little actions have big repercussions.  It might only be one bird that gets caught in that fishing line and dies (an absolute horrible death I might add something we should all contemplate) but if everyone had that thought it would be hundreds of birds. 

We fisherman are at the front of this scenario.  We are the ones who will lose the most from this.  We are also the ones to best combat it.  We are right there in the water, not merely passing over it.  In addition to not littering ourselves, it is of but the smallest effort to actually pick up others litter and throw it away properly.  The rewards for this small minute act are ours alone.  Keep the waters clean, and we still catch fish.  Just taking a little extra time to pick up this trash would be very significant.  Everyone doing a little adds up to a lot.  The fish will thank you.    As do I.