NFC Supports Move to Regulate "Shoot and Release" Bowfishing in Regard to Daily Limits
“This change would help to reduce the sport-killing and wanton waste of large numbers of native nongame fishes, which are particularly vulnerable during spawning aggregations.”
When NFC learned of a proposal by Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation in regard to including so-called “shoot and release” bowfishing in the daily bag limit for the species, we could not in good faith ignore it. Incidental mortality associated with bowfishing is notably higher than it is with traditional angling. Fish releasing fish after they have been shot with an arrow are very likely not to survive.
We need to treat our fish better than we are. This is one of those initiatives that puts science first and places a higher value on the health of the resource than the desires of the individual.
