Taking Pictures of fish caught out of season

[JBen]

People will find the smallest wee bones.

I had thought hopefully this debate was finally put to bed. There is absolutely no way the written, letter of the law can cover every single possible thing/situation/devil detail.

The MNR has stated their position, it means without delay. They even went so far as to say "any unnessary delay could cause unnecessary harm". When the written law says, fish we cannot legally posses (see possession written letter of the law) we must release without causing further harm.

If you catch a fish OOS, letter of the law says, no pics, no delay.
If you catch a fish thats in season, but you cannot legally posses, no pics/delay
If you catch a fish thats in season, but theres a slot and you need to measure it, to ascertain if you can legally posses it..Measure it, that is a "necessary" delay because its required by law.

Your wading into hot water if and when you land it, measure it, determine you cannot legally posses it, delay for a hero shot, release.

The key terms is anything that we cannot legally possess, we must release immediately, without delay.
If we unnecessarily delay for any reason, even pausing to answer a phone call, text a friend to say "Wow I just caught on 7pd LM" it's possible we are causing uneccessary harm.

Would/could I get charged if I have my 500mm lens on and I snap a shot from 600feet away of some guy landing an OOS Musky? I wouldn't but if I did....

Would/could I get charged holding a conservation license and I hook into a lunge? Well if I land it, delay for a hero shot, get a call from my X who starts in on me and I delay releasing it....I am in hot water.

Would/could I get charged if Im in a boat and the guy Im fishing with has a sport licence, lands a lunge, delays for a shot, and then releases?

Theres no law against taking pics, there are laws about what we can posses, and unnecessary delays.

[JBen]

Just wanted to come back to this momentarily.

/puts on photographer hat
As a "photographer" who takes pics of everything, not just outdoor lifestyles. There are only a few laws against me/anyone taking pics of anyone/anything. private property posted as no pics is one, nothing stopping me from standing 1 foot on the other side of the line and taking the same image. If I want to take an image of you, I can.

If I want to take an image of you in an embarrassing/compromising situation, I can. I can take pics of kids if I want. Just because I can, doesn't mean I do. When you have cameras in your hands, there are only a few things you can't take pictures of. There are laws about what you can do with images.

/Dons angler/hunter hat
there are dozens of grey areas in the various acts/regs. When I find myself in one of those areas I fall back on various underlying principles.

Respect our resources.

With respect to this specific topic. There's are (imo) still some greyish situations ( devil details). Do we really need to hash out every little one?

We now know the MNRs position. Unnessary delays can lead to unnessary harm.

respect our resources.

Am I really showing respect to that OOS 55inch lunge I hoist out of the water so my friend can get quick snap and I can have my hero shot?

[JMatthews]

People will find the smallest wee bones.

I had thought hopefully this debate was finally put to bed. There is absolutely no way the written, letter of the law can cover every single possible thing/situation/devil detail.

The MNR has stated their position, it means without delay. They even went so far as to say "any unnessary delay could cause unnecessary harm". When the written law says, fish we cannot legally posses (see possession written letter of the law) we must release without causing further harm.

If you catch a fish OOS, letter of the law says, no pics, no delay.
If you catch a fish thats in season, but you cannot legally posses, no pics/delay
If you catch a fish thats in season, but theres a slot and you need to measure it, to ascertain if you can legally posses it..Measure it, that is a "necessary" delay because its required by law.

Your wading into hot water if and when you land it, measure it, determine you cannot legally posses it, delay for a hero shot, release.

The key terms is anything that we cannot legally possess, we must release immediately, without delay.
If we unnecessarily delay for any reason, even pausing to answer a phone call, text a friend to say "Wow I just caught on 7pd LM" it's possible we are causing uneccessary harm.

Would/could I get charged if I have my 500mm lens on and I snap a shot from 600feet away of some guy landing an OOS Musky? I wouldn't but if I did....

Would/could I get charged holding a conservation license and I hook into a lunge? Well if I land it, delay for a hero shot, get a call from my X who starts in on me and I delay releasing it....I am in hot water.

Would/could I get charged if Im in a boat and the guy Im fishing with has a sport licence, lands a lunge, delays for a shot, and then releases?

Theres no law against taking pics, there are laws about what we can posses, and unnecessary delays.

Well put. It's all about making sure that the fish will not be harmed and will be available for future legal angling opportunities.

[Paddy]

Question:

Who causes more harm to the fish?

a) the angler with a sport licence who catches an in season 55 inch ski and pauses for a quick pic and a text book release.
b) the angler with a conservation licence who catches an in season 55 inch ski and pauses for a quick pic and a text book release.

[werner.reiche]

Question:

Who causes more harm to the fish?

a) the angler with a sport licence who catches an in season 55 inch ski and pauses for a quick pic and a text book release.
b) the angler with a conservation licence who catches an in season 55 inch ski and pauses for a quick pic and a text book release.

Not sure what your point is - but you missed option c) - the angler with NO license catches an in season 55 inch ski and pauses for a quick pic and a text book release.

And the answer is they are all the same - but the province does require licenses for fishing and the angler must have the proper license, the fish must be in season (and slot size if applicable) for the angler to have the privilege of taking a trophy photo.

[Paddy]

Not sure what your point is - but you missed option c) - the angler with NO license catches an in season 55 inch ski and pauses for a quick pic and a text book release.

And the answer is they are all the same - but the province does require licenses for fishing and the angler must have the proper license, the fish must be in season (and slot size if applicable) for the angler to have the privilege of taking a trophy photo.

Werner, for the first time, I agree with you 100%.

To answer your question though; my point was to show that the law (the cons. vs sport) was not created to protect fish from undue harm.

[JBen]

Back to guiding principles.

The MNR is not our enemy, they have more than once with respect to similiar issues/topics said something along the lines of.
"we encourage people experience/enjoy our resources"

Honestly, we can find all kinds of "wee bones" just under the surface if we want. Heres just one
Rivers with C/R but no kill. Letter of the law says "you cannot possess" and "immediately".
and on and on and on she goes.

Fair chase and guiding principles and another oft debated topic.
Can my friend/child come hunting with me? We all know the MNR has said yes, so long as they dont aid in the hunt.

/ques a pages long debate looking for the fine hairs/wee bones (what ever we want to call them)trying to define what would/wouldnt be "aiding in the hunt" in a COs eyes.

We know the guiding principles.
We now know the MNRs position on this one.

[jimmer]

This is way over analyzed. Those TV guys would be out of business by now if the picture thing was enforced, especially with muskie.

[fishy steve]

People will find the smallest wee bones.

I had thought hopefully this debate was finally put to bed. There is absolutely no way the written, letter of the law can cover every single possible thing/situation/devil detail.
.

well we need something to squable over till hunting season comes around and people can start complaining about pics of deer where you cant see the tag

[redd foxx]

At the end of the day, if a person holds that fish long enough to take a photo and is charged....the judge will decide who was right and who was wrong under the circumstances. May not (or may) go the way the LEO has indicated. Sometimes I think the judges are a little more lenient than the officers. I think the judge gets paid the big bucks to determine what is the intent of the law and what was the intent of the person charged for breaking the law. May be 2 different things with surprising outcomes. It all boils down to what is reasonable under the circumstances.