And you think we have some government officials who don't have a clue... Here's what the guys in Switzerland have to contend with:

SWISS GOVERNMENT TO BAN ‘CATCH AND RELEASE’ FISHING
Catch and Release fishing will be banned in Switzerland from next year, it was revealed this week.

And anglers in the country will have to demonstrate their expertise by taking a course on humane methods of catching fish, under new legislation outlined by the Bundesrat - the Swiss Federal Parliament.

The new legislation states that fish caught should be killed immediately following their capture, with a sharp blow to the head from a blunt instrument. Under the new regulations, the use of livebait and barbed hooks is also prohibited except in certain situations.

The laws come into effect in 2009 but while the Swiss government does not mention Catch and Release specifically, it does say that "it is not permitted to go fishing with the 'intention' to release the fish."

EFTTA lobbyist Jan Kappel has been in contact with Martin Peter, Vice President of the Swiss Angling Federation, to see whether a joint approach to the Swiss government could persuade them to amend the legislation - which forms part of a much wider animal welfare programme.

The law on the protection of animals was passed by the Swiss parliament in 2005 and officials have spent three years refining the details, taking into account the comments of interested parties.

Said Jan: "Catch and Release is one of the most difficult issues we have to deal with, and one of the most important in my opinion.

“The new Swiss law doesn't make use of the term 'Catch and Release', which is the same as in Germany – but I don't see how governments can enforce legislation which makes 'intent' illegal.

“And demanding that people kill the fish they catch gives no thought to the conservation benefits from releasing them."

Angling Codes of Conduct with regards to proper handling and releases can be found for practically any fish species caught by anglers in Switzerland and the rest of the world. The new Swiss law makes it obligatory for anglers to take lessons before being granted a fishing license. So there is absolutely no need for an outright ban on the release of fish in Switzerland.”

It’s believed that the legislation could affect as many as 275,000 anglers in Switzerland, who generate around 30 million Euros in annual tackle sales.

EFTTA acting president, Pierangelo Zanetta, said: "EFTTA does not believe that forcing anglers to kill their catches is either good for nature or for recreational sport fishing - which makes a significant financial contribution to the EU economy.

“Making the killing of fish obligatory will simply reduce fish population and, at the same time, run the risk of having a negative impact on sport fishing.

"Anglers and the sport of angling invest time and money to improve water quality and create larger and healthier fish populations. We believe is it far better for the fish if the fisherman decides, according to the situation, whether to keep and eat the fish or to release it."
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GS<
MS

The Swiss......aren't these the same people who took care of the NAZI Gold during WWII?
Government.......They Know moer than you do!!!

Let's go bomb those CHEESEHEADS!!!

They are missing the point totally. Apparently some PETA type group is worried about hurting the fish's mouth but forgot about the blow to the head that kills them. They have some beautiful lakes there. Spent a weekend on Lake Lucerne.

I got this originally last month in a European fishing newsletter, forwarded it to everyone I know.
Glad to see that it is circulating around the fishing world.
They knew that they could not pull off a complete ban on fishing, it is too important a food-gathering exercise for rural people.
The ban on catch and release takes any "sport" out of it, which obviously they could get done.
The Netherlands has even banned the use of live bait because it's cruel to the bait.
Don't think that similar attempts won't be made here, just one little increment at a time.

I pretty much agree with what's being said here, and banning catch and release is kinda silly-----and more than likely motivated by folks with some strange views toward fish and fishing. But (and it's a realy big but), sometimes catch and release can be a pretty damaging practice and shouldn't be blindly supported just because it sounds good.
For example, here in the Pacific Northwest we have a slot limit for sturgeon. In the Cloumbia River there is a major fishery for oversize sturgeon that are repeatedly caught, fought to exhaustion, and then released. There are estimates out there (derived by fish biologists) that as much as 7% of these large fish may be dying each year as a direct result(based on the number of large sturgeon found dead in the river). In such a large, slow growing critter, 7% is huge! Fish have been found dead (washed up) with multiple lines streaming out the vent, attached to hooks that are embedded somewhere up in the throat. In addition, there's good evidence that the physiological effects of the stress of repeated prolonged battles by these fish has a significant effect on their ability to reproduce. Granted, sturgeon are somewhat of a special case because they can only be caught on bait, and thus can get hooked in damaging ways. Nevertheless, catch and release is obviously pretty damaging to these fish.
My other Northwest example is with Coho salmon. In the ocean fishery, only hatchery coho can be retained (clipped adipose fin). If a wild fish is caught it must be released. There are days when several wild fish are caught for every hatchery fish (my record is eleven!). Officially, the mortality of these wild coho is reported by agencies as about 15%, based on subjective evaluation by observers on charter fishing boats(when you see any blood streaming behind a hooked salmon, it's a lock that it is a dead fish swimming). Privately, and off the record, these same observers will often admit to mortality closer to 30-40%. Now salmon are pretty sensitive fish, and even though barbless hooks are mandated, this is a pretty substantial loss of fish as a result of catch and release.
So I guess my point is that I would caution against taking too strong a stand for catch and release across the board because there are instances/species where it isn't necessarily a great thing for the resource (or for the individual fish that is caught and released). On the other hand, lots of fish are tough, nearly to the point of being indestructable. Things like bass and yellowtail, and a lot of others are hardly fazed at all by the process----interestingly, research up here shows that lingcod stop feeding for awhile after the ordeal if they've experienced warmer surface waters, sometimes to the point that they begin dying after a week or two. Interestingly, it's the smaller lingcod that demonstrate the higher mortality, and they of course are the ones most likely to be released, especially when there is a size limit. And I always thought they were about the toughest, most indestructable fish around! Go figure.