Skip to content

SpeciesScientists Discover Mysterious New Fish in the Red Sea – and Have Never Seen It Again OceanEye to eye with Britain's hidden sharks at SharkAdemy - Oceanographic RiversIn October, biologists surveying a New York harbor for invasive fish pulled up a bright yellow one. It wasn't an invasive species at all OceanShedd Aquarium Sends Shark Eggs to Bolster Wild Populations SpeciesA rare fish has been found in Lake Ontario, North America, whose entire body is golden. It is a nati..OceanThe Great Sea Reef Is Fiji’s Wildest Dive, and a New Frontier for Conservation OceanEckerd College professor contributes to designating Biscayne Bay an Important Shark and Ray Area SpeciesRio Verde Grande Survey Identifies Fifty-Three Fish Species Facing Flow Reductions FisheriesAdams River Salmon Run in Thompson-Nicola IndiaHilsa production dropped 26% in five years, fisheries minister tells parliament SpeciesScientists Discover Mysterious New Fish in the Red Sea – and Have Never Seen It Again OceanEye to eye with Britain's hidden sharks at SharkAdemy - Oceanographic RiversIn October, biologists surveying a New York harbor for invasive fish pulled up a bright yellow one. It wasn't an invasive species at all OceanShedd Aquarium Sends Shark Eggs to Bolster Wild Populations SpeciesA rare fish has been found in Lake Ontario, North America, whose entire body is golden. It is a nati..OceanThe Great Sea Reef Is Fiji’s Wildest Dive, and a New Frontier for Conservation OceanEckerd College professor contributes to designating Biscayne Bay an Important Shark and Ray Area SpeciesRio Verde Grande Survey Identifies Fifty-Three Fish Species Facing Flow Reductions FisheriesAdams River Salmon Run in Thompson-Nicola IndiaHilsa production dropped 26% in five years, fisheries minister tells parliament

EveryFish

Sport fishing

Prized by anglers. 79 fish on EveryFish so far.

Sport fishing, or recreational angling, is fishing for enjoyment rather than a living. Hundreds of millions of people fish this way, from children with a line in a pond to anglers who travel the world for marlin, tarpon or mahseer. Game fish are prized for their fight, size, wariness or the places they live. Catch and release, in which fish are returned alive, has become common for many species.

Game fish of India

The mahseers of the Himalaya and the Western Ghats are India's great game fish, known for their power in fast rivers. British anglers wrote about them from the 19th century, and camps on the Kaveri ran catch and release fishing for the hump-backed mahseer for decades. Trout introduced into Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and the Nilgiris draw anglers to cold streams. Sea anglers fish for giant trevally, barracuda and sailfish off Goa, Karnataka and the Andaman Islands.

Rules and conservation

Recreational fishing is a large industry in North America, Europe and Australia, and it funds a good deal of fish conservation through licence fees. Anglers can also put real pressure on stocks, so many countries set seasons, bag limits and minimum sizes. The International Game Fish Association, founded in 1939, keeps world records and promotes ethical angling. Catch and release survival depends on careful handling, short fights and quick return.

Famous sport fishing fish

Golden mahseerThe golden mahseer of Himalayan rivers

Largemouth bassAmerica's most popular sport fish

Still to be written: Tor remadeviae, Atlantic blue marlin, Atlantic tarpon, Brown trout, Giant trevally, Bonefish.

Further reading

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

Largemouth bass: Totti, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Golden mahseer: Khalid Mahmood, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Gafftopsail catfish: Bobby McCabe, CC BY 4.0, source
Blue catfish: Duane Raver - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Public domain, source
Piraíba: Carl H. Eigenmann / Barton Appler Bean, Public domain, source

The weekly digest

Every Monday: the fish of the day, new pages on EveryFish, and the conferences and anniversaries of the week ahead.