2016

The First Season of the “Release the Mother!” Contest has Come to an End

The first season closing ceremony of the contest "Release the Mother" took place in Latvia's State Forest Nature Park in Tērvete on 10 December, bringing together responsible anglers and fishing mates who shared their ideas about the role and importance of the "Catch and Release" movement. There were a plenty of stories, expert assessments and observations, as well as the awarding ceremony of the contest winners.

"We have had a very successful year with the "Release the Mother!" campaign in the lakes managed by Latvia's State Forests. The goal is common - to encourage people to think differently! Not only catch, but also release the catches. Then the result of the campaign turns into a badge of honour, giving the title - Honorary Angler", says Māris Olte, who throughout the season encouraged anglers to head to the lakes managed by JSC "Latvia's State Forests" to enjoy angling and to participate in the competition "Release the Mother!".

"I am happy that anglers responded to our call and let the big fish go. People showed interest and sent in their applications for the contest, so we, as the lake manager, know that the big fish continue to live in the lake, spawn and make a new generation, thus enriching fish resources in the water body", says Kristaps Didže, Head of LVM Recreation and Hunting, Park Unit. Next year, we will certainly continue this campaign, fish troughs will be available at the boat bases, and anglers once again will be encouraged to fight for the biggest fish released. The bigger the fish released, the greater the pleasure", adds Kristaps.

At their meeting, the anglers agreed that as the mastery of anglers is improving, the size of fish is not increasing. Care should be taken to ensure that in the future the large catches will occur more frequently. Anatolijs Jakuņins, Supervisor of LVM Lake Kaņieris, who has been working as a supervisor already for nine years, has experienced many things and heard a number of believable and not so believable stories told by anglers. "Angling culture has improved considerably over the years. More than a half of the anglers who come to our lake, used to catch and release fish also before this campaign. It's a conviction of many anglers", the Lake Supervisor has observed.

Arnis Fišers, Supervisor of LVM Lake Lielauce, agrees with him. He has noticed that anglers of younger generations are more willing to try out something new, they are ready to contribute to the enrichment of future fish stocks and are very enthusiastic to take part in the contest. He also predicts that in the future this campaign will become even more popular among anglers. They will go into the lake taking along a measuring trough and will return to the shore with splendid video stories of the measured and carefully released fish.

Juris Bārtulis, the contestant who in November caught and released the biggest fish, says that he releases the big fish so that they can grow even bigger and give an even greater pleasure to another angler. "Lake Gulbji is my lake, I have been fishing here for at least 10 years. During this time, I have had a number of catches of different sizes", says Juris, who caught and released a 69-centimetre-long pike in LVM Lake Gulbji.

The main prize in the first season of the "Release the Mother!" contest was awarded to Raimons Mārtiņš, who managed to make the best video of releasing of a fish. In September, Raimons caught and released a 102-centimetre-long pike in LVM Tērvete Reservoir. "Catch and Release" is my internal conviction. Taking part in this competition has been a real pleasure for me, thank you very much for this opportunity", says Raimons.

Altogether more than 30 applications were received in the first season of the "Release the Mother!" contest. The average length of the caught and released fish was 62.9 centimetres, while the total length of the caught and released fish reached almost 20 metres. The fish captured in the photos and video stories will be able to grow, perhaps spawn and maybe even reach the size of a trophy, so that one day they are once again measured in fish troughs.