AN animal welfare organisation has urged anglers taking part in a tuna fishing competition in Falmouth to fish for rubbish instead.

PETA is calling for the Bluefin Tuna Catch and Release Competition being held between September 4 and 6 to evolve into something kinder for animals and the planet.

A letter has been sent Bluefin Tuna Association chief executive Steve Murphy appealing to him to uphold his commitments to fish welfare and conservation by leaving marine life in peace and get competitors to fish for discarded fishing gear and other rubbish dumped in the sea.

PETA vice president of vegan corporate projects Dawn Carr said: “Hooking fish in their mouths, yanking them from their homes and letting them suffocate slowly is abuse dressed up as ‘sport.’

“Catch and release fishing is as cruel as kicking a puppy, and PETA encourages the competition to do right by tuna and all marine life by cleaning up the ocean instead.

“Tuna enjoy complex communication, cooperate with one another, and can swim more than 100 miles a day. Tuna suffer immensely when yanked from the water, and those who swallow baited hooks deeply can sustain painful internal injuries. Up to 43 per cent of fish don’t survive after the trauma of being impaled on a hook and hoisted out of their natural environment.

“Fish feel pain, share knowledge, and have long memories and cultural traditions. Some woo potential partners by creating intricate works of art in the sand on the ocean floor. Yet billions of fish die every year in nets and on hooks—some are destined for human consumption, many are tormented just for “sport,” and others are non-target species who are caught or become entangled in fishing gear meant to ensnare other sea life.

The call follows PETA writing to the Cromer Crab and Lobster Festival in May asking organisers to fish for crab apples instead of crabs at the World Pier Crabbing Championships.