One of my favorite SoCal trout streams
Recreational fishing faces many threats - loss of fish habitat, drought, radical environmentalists, increasing regulations, a public that is increasingly unfamiliar with angling, and so on. One particular threat that all anglers should be aware of has emerged from Europe (with attempts being made to enact it in Canada), in the form of fishing regulations that ban catch and release fishing for being supposedly cruel.
While this sounds absolutely insane (it is!), let me quickly explain the theory behind such regulation. Certain individuals opposed to recreational fishing believe fish feel pain in a manner similar to humans (despite evidence to the contrary), and as such, no one should fish for "sport" (defined by catch and release angling), only for food. Never mind the detrimental impact such a policy would have on isolated streams and lakes, especially in densely populated regions like California! In fact, anglers can be fined for releasing fish in some parts of Europe, particularly Germany.
There is a very nice documentary looking into this issue, and how local anglers are dealing with it in Germany right now.
Much of this nonsense stems from a "Global Code of Practice" or "Best Management Practice" for fishing that is being pushed throughout various part of the Western world. The key fallacy behind this is man and fish simply are not the same, and attempts to equate the two, in terms of pain/suffering are intrinsically wrong. I highly encourage everyone to read the excellent writeup on this threat to angling at High County Angler's Fall 2017 edition (https://issuu.com/highcountryangler/docs/hca_fall_17)
The author, fisheries biologist John Nickum, rightly notes the pseudo-science behind such "Global Code of Practice for Recreational Fisheries", the agenda disguised as "science", and the stupidity of the anthropomorphisms behind such beliefs. Definitely go read it! It's on pages 46-47 in ezine.
To really delve into the science behind fish not perceiving pain in the same manner as humans, take a look at the role of C-fibers and Adelta fibers in the nervous system. Fish have a distinctly different arrangement (or even a lack thereof) of these, rendering their nociceptors perception vastly different from humans. C-fibers, the unmyelinated fibers responsible for severe, chronic, burning pain in some cases, are either absent or severely reduced in fish. The importance of this cannot be stressed enough!
Properly done, fishing is not cruel, and catch and release fishing is certainly not cruel. In fact, catch and release fishing is vital to the health of a fishery where recreational fishing is allowed. Finally, without recreational fishing (fortunately, it's part of California's Constitution to allow fishing), many waterways would be less robust and there would be less funds and interest in caring for them.
Outdoorsmen (and women!), be they hunters or anglers, have traditionally formed the backbone behind protecting and preserving habitat and species for future generations to continue to enjoy. Few people care as much about the health of a fishery as the anglers that spend countless hours on the water. Many wildlife sanctuaries are funded by hunters and anglers, who directly benefit from a healthy, robust ecosystem with game and fish to pursue, be it for take or (in the case of fishing), catch and release. In many situations, the goals of recreational fishing and environmental organizations do align (i.e. CalTrout and TroutUnlimited partnering with the Nature Conservancy and Environmental Defense Fund) Unfortunately, there is an element with some environmental circles, mostly from animal rights activists, that is completely opposed to any recreational fishing (and often to human life in general). Such groups should never be supported or assisted in any manner, and anglers of all stripes should be alarmed when policies such groups push become law. Remember, it's a crime to interfere with the act of legal fishing or hunting in California, be sure to report anyone doing that!
Be nice.