No. Improved research into recreational catch is welcome, and the most recent study is a good example of it. However, the figures don’t expose a hidden gap: release mortality is built into how catch limits are set. The current 450 tonne allowance for mortality in the northern snapper fishery adequately covers the estimated 250 tonnes of fish that die due to recreational fishing. Requiring every recreational fisher to register every fish wouldn’t change that, and compulsory reporting would be very hard to enforce across all recreational fishing vessels. The bigger contribution to conservation will come from increasing how many released fish survive, through better handling and gear.