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Dec Allows Fish Photos


captnn

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Ontario never went there :wall:

Immediate Release of Fish – All fish that are caught unlawfully or are illegal to possess (e.g., during the closed season, of prohibited size, or are in excess of the catch and possession limits) must be immediately released at the place and time of capture. This includes fish that may be injured during catch. This rule does not apply to invasive species like goby which must be immediately released or destroyed (see General Prohibitions).

The MNR hasn't done a very good job defining their terms. This quote from the regs can easily be interpreted a couple ways. Whether or not taking a quick pic of an OOS fish then releasing it qualifies as "immediate" I don't know and it will most likely depend on who you ask.

It can be reasonably argued that Ontario did "go there"

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There are, as I mentioned in another thread, lots of potential issues with the wording of the Ontario regulation. Most importantly, what constitutes "immediate?" Does "immediately released" mean that an angler taking 2-3 minutes to revive a played-out fish, or to dislodge a deeply imbedded lure is in violation? More clarity is needed.

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The MNR hasn't done a very good job defining their terms. This quote from the regs can easily be interpreted a couple ways. Whether or not taking a quick pic of an OOS fish then releasing it qualifies as "immediate" I don't know and it will most likely depend on who you ask.

It can be reasonably argued that Ontario did "go there"

Ontario never specifically said taking a photo of an OOS fish was against the regs like NY did.

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There are, as I mentioned in another thread, lots of potential issues with the wording of the Ontario regulation. Most importantly, what constitutes "immediate?" Does "immediately released" mean that an angler taking 2-3 minutes to revive a played-out fish, or to dislodge a deeply imbedded lure is in violation? More clarity is needed.

I'm sure I read something in the regs a few years ago about "taking a quick photo and releasing the fish promptly" ....so ,since I have a bunch of old reg books , I checked out the 2011 regs and found this ......This is just a general rule for releasing in season fish after a photo for the purpose of helping the fish recover . There is no written rules specifically for photographing oos fish .......There should be some clear language which says "No photos of oos fish" , otherwise it is up to the individual to decide . Posting an oos fish on the www or another site or emailing friends is another story as it could end up on Facebook or anywhere else .Personally , I'll not post oos fish pictures anywhere on the net , unless it's an eel ,etc., to be sent directly to the MNR as requested .

SAM_5968.JPG

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Ontario never specifically said taking a photo of an OOS fish was against the regs like NY did.

That's true they didn't. But they also didn't define "immediate".

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I'm not going to apologize for it... My personal best Smallmouth was caught few years ago out of season. I took a pic of the fish. I absolutely consider it to be my personal best. I'd do it again under the same circumstances. I wasn't targeting smallmouth at the time and I won't target OOS fish. I also won't post the pic on a forum (such as this one) that asks for OOS photos not to be posted. But that's not going to stop me from taking a "hero shot". I'm not going to let a group of self-righteous fishermen guilt me into not taking a pic of a quality fish.

I take just as much care to ensure a healthy release whether the fish is in season or not. And if a fisherman isn't going to properly handle a fish that he intends to release when it is not in season won't make a difference to him if the fish is out of season. Some vague line written in an abscure section of the regs that the majority don't even read isn't going to have an effect on a fishery one way or the other.

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I don't see why there should be an issue with taking a quick photo of any fish before release, especially since everyone has a camera on their cell phone and taking the pic can take a matter of seconds.

What I do have concerns about is how the law, as written, can or could be interpreted. It does not adequately define "possession" or "immediately." I don't like leaving those terms up to a CO or a judge to define.

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I'm sure I read something in the regs a few years ago about "taking a quick photo and releasing the fish promptly" ....so ,since I have a bunch of old reg books , I checked out the 2011 regs and found this ......This is just a general rule for releasing in season fish after a photo for the purpose of helping the fish recover . There is no written rules specifically for photographing oos fish .......There should be some clear language which says "No photos of oos fish" , otherwise it is up to the individual to decide . Posting an oos fish on the www or another site or emailing friends is another story as it could end up on Facebook or anywhere else .Personally , I'll not post oos fish pictures anywhere on the net , unless it's an eel ,etc., to be sent directly to the MNR as requested .

SAM_5968.JPG

When you have an old reg book is it outdated and not legal to use when a new one comes out?

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That's true captnn , I was looking in older regs to see if there was something about taking pictures of oos fish that was more definite and not in the new regs . They may have decided to change the ruling on photographing oos because of possible abuse and exposing prime spawning areas .

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