For those of us who engage in fishing as a hobby, throwing a line overboard or casting one from shore, or those privileged enough to engage in spear-fishing, the experience can be exhilarating or even therapeutic.

A trip to the Chaguaramas area can attest to its popularity, particularly at weekends.

In Trinidad and Tobago there are several types of recreational fishermen: those who fish solely for pleasure, including fishing from boats or from the shore; and those who fish using boats on a part-time basis, with sales from fishing supplementing their incomes.

Whatever the categories, recreational fishermen use predominantly hook and line fishing methods such as a-la-vive, trolling and banking.

With a-la-vive fishing, live fish is used as bait, which is attached to a single hook, which in turn is attached to a nylon line. The bait is allowed to swim freely attracting pelagic fish such as carite, kingfish and cavalli.

Trolling is similar to a-la-vive, except that dead bait or artificial lures in many different shapes are used to attract the same types of pelagic fish.

In this case, several lines are towed behind the moving boat.

Banking targets demersal fish, which live on or near the sea bottom. These include red fish, salmon and croakers.

The boat is stationary and the nylon lines used are usually baited with several hooks.

Whilst these are the main types of fishing methods, spearfishing in conjunction with snorkelling or SCUBA diving is growing in popularity.

Its only limitation is its availability to the public at large.

Spearfishing is usually done in rocky or coralline areas and the targeted fishes include angelfishes, grunts, groupers, red fish and what is considered the biggest prize by many, lobsters. Use of commercial fishing gear, borrowed from a friend or neighbour, such as a trawler or gill net, is not uncommon.

While recreational fishing is popular on all of Trinidad's coasts, it is particularly so on the north-western peninsula. In 1993, a study of the recreational fishery for this area showed that there were an estimated 307 vessels and 2,393 fishermen involved, and catches were estimated at 1,231 tonnes per annum. This activity accounts for 12 percent of the total fish catch per annum.

Many of these recreational fishermen operate from fishing associations such as the Power Boats Mutual Facilities Ltd, Island Property Owners Ltd, Trinidad Yacht Club and the Almoorings Fishing Cooperative.

While the fibreglass pirogue is the most popular fishing boat used, powerboats and cabin cruisers are also utilized.

Many of these boats are fitted with radios, sonar, global positioning system (GPS), temperature probes, echo sounders, fish finders and radar, all of which add to the efficiency of the boats.

Recreational fishermen who own large vessels often take part in fishing tournaments which are held periodically throughout the year.

These sponsored tournaments are aimed at large pelagic fish such as kingfish, wahoo, tunas, billfishes and dolphinfish, and many lucrative prizes are offered. In Tobago, there is the annual Game Fishing Tournament, which is an international competition.

The 1993 study highlighted the potential of this fishery to compete with the commercial fishery.

Annual catches from recreational fishermen on the north-western peninsula using a-la-vive ranged from 27.3 kg to 28,000 kg, and those from about 40 fishermen involved in trolling was 49,780 kg.

While most of the effort for the commercial fishery is directed toward the use of gill-nets and that of the recreational fishery is towards hook and line, catch per boat each year is comparable. Approximately 7 tonnes of fish are caught per commercial vessel per year, whilst 4 tonnes of fish are caught per recreational vessel. The areas where recreational and commercial fishermen fish are the same and the fish targeted are also the same.

In addition to increasing exploitation levels of the existing fish stocks, there are concerns about direct competition with commercial full-time fishermen who earn their livelihood form fishing. There is a growing concern that recreational fishing can lead to over-fishing, particularly for the carite and the snapper/grouper fisheries, which are reported to be fully exploited already.

The development of charter boats in the recreational fishery also needs to be examined.

While these contribute to the economy, particularly the tourism industry, they also result in increases in the recreational fishing effort.

New Fishing Regulations, which came into effect in April of this year, only allow artisanal pirogue fishing and non-commercial pleasure fishing in the inshore area around Trinidad.

The inshore area on the North and South coasts is defined as two nautical miles from the coastline in general and one nautical mile in the Gulf of Paria.

While this is an attempt to reduce overlap in fishing areas, other concerns need to be addressed: the restriction of sales by recreational fishermen; the incorporation of recreational catches in assessments of the status of the fish stocks of concern; and the increased fishing effort through the development of charter boats.

In the United States, the recreational fishery for kingfish far exceeds that of the commercial fishery, and most of the fishing effort is directed through charter boat fleets.

These charter boats, however, are regulated by the imposition of bag limits. It is felt by some that the recreational fishery in Trinidad and Tobago should be recognized as an official fishery and subsequently regulated under the same conditions as those that pertain to the artisanal commercial fishery.

The next time you indulge in your favourite pastime, fishing for pleasure, remember the effect you can have on the fish stocks, and fish in moderation.

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