| This study analyzes the connection between water pollution and the rise of catch-and-release fishing in the United States and in the Mid-Atlantic in particular. This study provides a brief history of catch-and-release fishing and details those factors (in addition to water pollution) that have contributed to its increased popularity in the United States. Some of these include a desire to protect fisheries (voluntary catch-and-release), government mandated catch-and-release, socioeconomic background, cultural background, gender, race and other factors. Through a review of the literature, interviews with Mid-Atlantic anglers and other experts as well my own personal experience, I found that for many groups of anglers pollution did contribute to the rise of catch-and-release fishing in the Mid-Atlantic. |
