Urban fishing

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Urban fishing Urban fishing early morning.jpg
Urban fishing

Urban fishing is a type of recreational fishing that takes place in urban areas such as inner cities.

Contents

The United States Federal Government began urban fishing programs in 1969 during civil unrest in cities throughout the country. [1] It launched the program is six cities, including St. Louis, Missouri, which is one of the largest programs in existence in the U.S. [1] Several states run urban fishing programs where they stock ponds and lakes for anglers. [2]

Sewer fishing is a type of urban fishing where anglers attempt to catch fish from storm sewers. [3] Fish wind up in sewers from flooding that takes place from nearby lakes and streams, causing fish to swim to and from the bodies of water. [4] Sewer fishing was documented in the 2018 Nat Geo Wild television series Fish My City. [5]

Risks of urban fishing

Fishermen on a canal using a fishing rod and net Urban Fishing.jpg
Fishermen on a canal using a fishing rod and net
An urban fishing pond An urban fishing pond - geograph.org.uk - 3207093.jpg
An urban fishing pond

Pollution in urban waterways produces a risk for fishers when their purpose for fishing is consumption. [6] Throughout multiple rivers in the United States, carcinogens and hazardous chemicals such as mercury, dieldrin, and polychlorinated biphenyls have been found in native fish populations including the striped bass and the longnose gar. [7] Due to the chemical composure of PCBs, it takes years to breakdown and particles persist in the food chain long after their initial introduction into the ecosystem.

While the Clean Water Act has led to improved efforts to regulate contaminants in waterways, the water must have a recognized purpose for mandatory testing. [8] Some of the challenges presented by pollutants entering aquatic ecosystems can be lessened by finding an alternative to or limiting the use of pesticides that can enter an ecosystem through run-off and finding alternatives to reduce the amount of single use plastics that can pose hazards to aquatic life. [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stormwater</span> Water that originates during precipitation events and snow/ice melt

Stormwater, also written storm water, is water that originates from precipitation (storm), including heavy rain and meltwater from hail and snow. Stormwater can soak into the soil (infiltrate) and become groundwater, be stored on depressed land surface in ponds and puddles, evaporate back into the atmosphere, or contribute to surface runoff. Most runoff is conveyed directly as surface water to nearby streams, rivers or other large water bodies without treatment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angling</span> Fishing technique

Angling is a fishing technique that uses a fish hook attached to a fishing line to tether individual fish in the mouth. The fishing line is usually manipulated via a fishing rod, although rodless techniques such as handlining also exist. Modern angling rods are usually fitted with a fishing reel that functions as a cranking device for storing, retrieving and releasing out the line, although Tenkara fishing and traditional cane pole fishing are two rod-angling methods that do not use any reel. The fish hook itself can be additionally weighted with a denser tackle called a sinker, and is typically dressed with an appetizing bait to attract and entice the fish into swallowing the hook, but sometimes an inedible fake/imitation bait with multiple attached hooks is used instead of a single hook with edible bait. Some type of bite indicator, such as a float, a bell or a quiver tip, is often used to relay underwater status of the hook to the surface and alert the angler of a fish's presence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fishery</span> Raising or harvesting fish

Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life or, more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place. Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farms, both in freshwater waterbodies and the oceans. About 500 million people worldwide are economically dependent on fisheries. 171 million tonnes of fish were produced in 2016, but overfishing is an increasing problem, causing declines in some populations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Water pollution</span> Contamination of water bodies

Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies, with a negative impact on their uses. It is usually a result of human activities. Water bodies include lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers, reservoirs and groundwater. Water pollution results when contaminants mix with these water bodies. Contaminants can come from one of four main sources. These are sewage discharges, industrial activities, agricultural activities, and urban runoff including stormwater. Water pollution may affect either surface water or groundwater. This form of pollution can lead to many problems. One is the degradation of aquatic ecosystems. Another is spreading water-borne diseases when people use polluted water for drinking or irrigation. Water pollution also reduces the ecosystem services such as drinking water provided by the water resource.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aquatic animal</span> Animal that lives in water for most or all of its lifetime

An aquatic animal is any animal, whether vertebrate or invertebrate, that lives in bodies of water for all or most of its lifetime. Aquatic animals generally conduct gas exchange in water by extracting dissolved oxygen via specialised respiratory organs called gills, through the skin or across enteral mucosae, although some are evolved from terrestrial ancestors that re-adapted to aquatic environments, in which case they actually use lungs to breathe air and are essentially holding their breath when living in water. Some species of gastropod mollusc, such as the eastern emerald sea slug, are even capable of kleptoplastic photosynthesis via endosymbiosis with ingested yellow-green algae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape Cod Bay</span> Large bay of the Atlantic Ocean adjacent to the U.S. state of Massachusetts

Cape Cod Bay is a large bay of the Atlantic Ocean adjacent to the U.S. state of Massachusetts. Measuring 604 square miles (1,560 km2) below a line drawn from Brant Rock in Marshfield to Race Point in Provincetown, Massachusetts, it is enclosed by Cape Cod to the south and east, and Plymouth County, Massachusetts, to the west. To the north of Cape Cod Bay lie Massachusetts Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. Cape Cod Bay is the southernmost extremity of the Gulf of Maine. Cape Cod Bay is one of the bays adjacent to Massachusetts that give it the name Bay State. The others are Narragansett Bay, Buzzards Bay, and Massachusetts Bay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Balancing lake</span> Element of flood management system

A balancing lake is a term used in the U.K. describing a retention basin used to control flooding by temporarily storing flood waters. The term balancing pond is also used, though typically for smaller storage facilities for streams and brooks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Lakes Areas of Concern</span> Geographical region in the Great Lakes that show environmental degradation

Great Lakes Areas of Concern are designated geographic areas within the Great Lakes Basin that show severe environmental degradation. There are a total of 43 areas of concern within the Great Lakes, 26 being in the United States, 12 in Canada, and five shared by the two countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Longnose sucker</span> Species of fish

The longnose sucker is a species of cypriniform freshwater fish in the family Catostomidae. It is native to North America from the northern United States to the top of the continent. It is also found in Russia in rivers of eastern Siberia, and this one of only two species of sucker native to Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Surface runoff</span> Flow of excess rainwater not infiltrating in the ground over its surface

Surface runoff is the unconfined flow of water over the ground surface, in contrast to channel runoff. It occurs when excess rainwater, stormwater, meltwater, or other sources, can no longer sufficiently rapidly infiltrate in the soil. This can occur when the soil is saturated by water to its full capacity, and the rain arrives more quickly than the soil can absorb it. Surface runoff often occurs because impervious areas do not allow water to soak into the ground. Furthermore, runoff can occur either through natural or human-made processes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Environmental impact of fishing</span>

The environmental impact of fishing includes issues such as the availability of fish, overfishing, fisheries, and fisheries management; as well as the impact of industrial fishing on other elements of the environment, such as bycatch. These issues are part of marine conservation, and are addressed in fisheries science programs. According to a 2019 FAO report, global production of fish, crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic animals has continued to grow and reached 172.6 million tonnes in 2017, with an increase of 4.1 percent compared with 2016. There is a growing gap between the supply of fish and demand, due in part to world population growth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fish stocking</span> Releasing Fish from hatchery

Fish stocking is the practice of releasing fish that are artificially raised in a hatchery into a natural body of water, to supplement existing wild populations or to create a new population where previously none exists. Stocking may be done for the benefit of commercial, recreational or tribal heritage fishing, but may also be done for ecological conservation to restore or increase the population of threatened/endangered fish species that is pressured by prior overfishing, habitat destruction, and/or competition from invasive species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fishing bait</span> Object or substance used to attract fish

Fishing bait is any luring substance used specifically to attract and catch fish, typically when angling with a hook and line. There are generally two types of baits used in angling: hookbaits, which are directly mounted onto fish hooks and are what the term "fishing bait" typically refers to; and groundbaits, which are scattered separately into the water as an "appetizer" to attract the fish nearer to the hook. Despite the bait's sole importance is to provoke a feeding response out of the target fish, the way how fish react to different baits is quite poorly understood.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to fishing:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Urban runoff</span> Surface runoff of water caused by urbanization

Urban runoff is surface runoff of rainwater, landscape irrigation, and car washing created by urbanization. Impervious surfaces are constructed during land development. During rain, storms, and other precipitation events, these surfaces, along with rooftops, carry polluted stormwater to storm drains, instead of allowing the water to percolate through soil. This causes lowering of the water table and flooding since the amount of water that remains on the surface is greater. Most municipal storm sewer systems discharge untreated stormwater to streams, rivers, and bays. This excess water can also make its way into people's properties through basement backups and seepage through building wall and floors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River</span> Natural flowing freshwater stream

A river is a natural freshwater stream that flows on land or inside caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of its course if it runs out of water, or only flow during certain seasons. Rivers are regulated by the water cycle, the processes by which water moves around the Earth. Water first enters rivers through precipitation, whether from the runoff of water down a slope, the melting of glaciers or snow, or seepage from aquifers beneath the surface of the Earth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carp fishing</span>

Carp is a common name for various species of freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae that are native to Eurasia and sought after by some recreational fishermen. Certain carp species have been introduced, with mixed results, to various other locations around the world, and even declared invasive in certain regions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Urban stream</span> Formerly natural waterway flowing through heavily populated area

An urban stream is a formerly natural waterway that flows through a heavily populated area. Often times, urban streams are low-lying points in the landscape that characterize catchment urbanization. Urban streams are often polluted by urban runoff and combined sewer outflows. Water scarcity makes flow management in the rehabilitation of urban streams problematic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Water pollution in New Zealand</span> Overview of the water pollution in New Zealand

Water pollution in New Zealand is an increasing concern for those who use and care for waterways and for New Zealand regulatory bodies. An increase in population is linked to an increase in water pollution, due to a range of causes such as rural land use, industrial use and urban development. Fresh water quality is under pressure from agriculture, hydropower, urban development, pest invasions and climate change. While pollution from point sources has been reduced, diffuse pollution such as nutrients, pathogens and sediments development and from stormwater in towns is not under control. There are more than 800 water quality monitoring sites around New Zealand that are regularly sampled.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to fisheries:

References

  1. 1 2 "Missouri's Urban Fishing Program celebrates 50th anniversary". The St. Louis American. 8 February 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  2. City Limits. Field and Stream.
  3. Mandell, Nina (13 December 2018). "Sewer fishing is the newest rage in fishing". USA Today. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  4. Riedl, Matt (10 October 2018). "Unexpected consequence of the rain: Goldfish spilling out of Wichita sewers". The Wichita Eagle. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  5. Diaz, Johnny (26 October 2018). "Nat Geo Wild's 'Fish My City' dives into Miami in search of exotic fish". Sun Sentinel. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  6. Joosse, Sofie; Hensle, Lara; Boonstra, Wiebren J.; Ponzelar, Charlotte; Olsson, Jens (2021-12-20). "Fishing in the city for food—a paradigmatic case of sustainability in urban blue space". npj Urban Sustainability. 1 (1): 41. Bibcode:2021npjUS...1...41J. doi: 10.1038/s42949-021-00043-9 . ISSN   2661-8001. S2CID   245330654.
  7. Pulford, E.; Polidoro, B.A.; Nation, M. (2017-09-01). "Understanding the relationships between water quality, recreational fishing practices, and human health in Phoenix, Arizona". Journal of Environmental Management. 199: 242–250. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2017.05.046 . ISSN   0301-4797. PMID   28549275. S2CID   21993704.
  8. "With urban fishing, there's a catch". ASU News. 2019-08-14. Retrieved 2022-12-06.
  9. "MBNMS: What You Can Do To Reduce Urban Runoff Pollution". montereybay.noaa.gov. Retrieved 2022-12-06.