The only thing constant is change, right? Attitudes change with education, or with circumstances. I grew up po' (that's worse than poor)
in Newfoundland. With 12 mouths to feed, there was no C & R going on; being the youngest, there was the constant threat of being
cannibalized if we ran out of food. Got worried a few times when Mom was adding 4 cans of water to a can of Campbell's soup to make
enough for everyone! Wasn't unusual for us to bring home 10-12 dozen little brookies from a daytrip; not one ever was wasted, either.
Nowadays, I'll go years without keeping a fish; very rarely keep a few for a shore lunch when camping with my brothers. Been years
since I've done that, even. Now when I catch a nice trout from a creek, I am appalled at the thought of taking any of the brood stock
out of the population; admire it, maybe a photo, release it. 30+ years ago, that trout would have been dinner- no doubt about it.
My attitude change came about because of a change in circumstances, plus some education. Guess we all evolve some, right?
Later,
Steve M.