MeritBadge.Net

a farm raised fish seems like the way to go. I have fished well over 35 years, the water is getting cleaner and science is advancing.

I'm the best friend a fish has. If I go fishing, I have to stop and buy one to have something to show for the trip, haha. But, I'll eat 'em.

The idea was that the scout would catch two fish, release one and clean, cook, and eat the other. Given current conservation trends and advisories against eating wild fish in many area, I advise all to let the scout release the two he catches and obtain an uncleaned fish and do the cleaning and the cooking. There are those on the national committee for Fishing MB who insist on the Scout cleaning and cooking one of the caught fish, and there are those on the advancement committee who rally behind the concept of conservation and safety.

Since it is all up to the MB counselor -- pick the counselor to whom you send your scouts wisely.

Whoa! Three years and one hour after the previous post was made!



The wording clearly leaves it open to cook a fish other than one you caught.

As I typed that sentence, the news came on with a warning about fish in Galveston Bay! Do not eat them!

The way I read the second part of the requirement is to clean and cook another fish, it does not have to be a fish you caught. I think an important point is that the requirement says nothing about eating any fish!

We had a fishing camp out and some of the scouts were working on the fishing merit badge. The all caught the required fish and released everyone of them. To fulfill the cleaning and cooking part, one the Dads with us bought some white bass from the local fish market and help demonstrate the proper cleaning and cooking. Each scout had to clean and cook a fish, although the fish was purchased and not a fish they caught.

My feelings are that the intent of the badge is be sure the scouts know how to "catch and release" and "clean and cook".

When our crew went to Sea Base, we cleaned our own fish. My father, a fisherman since he was a kid, came down from Indiana for my daughter's H.S. graduation & brought whole, frozen bluegill - he taught each kid in the crew how to clean & then we had a fish fry. Kids were prepared at Sea Base & knew skills our Mate didn't. We did Wilderness Survival last month in Oklahoma & again, the menu was fish. It's a basic outdoor skill that should remain in the program.

Quailman, that is exactly it.

If the BSA wanted to say "Clean, cook, and eat one of the fish that you have caught." ...they would say that.

The Boy Scout Requirements on page 23 state:

Requirements. You are expected to meet the requirements as they are stated -- no more and no less. You are expected to do exactly what is stated in the requirements.

- Craig

Check out the 2010 Meritbadge requirements regarding the cooking /cleaning part.

Req 9 Catch at least one fish. If regulations and health concerns permit,clean and cook a fish you have caught. Otherwise acquire a fish and cook it.

This a great change since there are fish eating advisories for every state,that I have checked except Alaska and Hawaii..

There is even more on catch and release.

Deweylure

The thing I don't see anybody commenting on is the requirement says "clean and cook". Nowhere does it say the word "eat". While this would be a shame to cook the fish and not eat it, there is nothing that says the fish must be consumed.

Stocked fish are OK to eat

My fish allergic son earned this one since all he needed to do was clean and cook the fish....eating would have been a problem.

My son is not allergic to fish...just adverse to them. Some scouts who get all the MBs get Bugling last. My son's last ones would be Fishing and Fly Fishing. Can he apply for an Alternative MB? Maybe he can be part of a First Aid class for what you do for scouts who gag?

1. What is mercury and methylmercury?

Mercury occurs naturally in the environment and can also be released into the air through industrial pollution. Mercury falls from the air and can accumulate in streams and oceans and is turned into methylmercury in the water. It is this type of mercury that can be harmful to your unborn baby and young child. Fish absorb the methylmercury as they feed in these waters and so it builds up in them. It builds up more in some types of fish and shellfish than others, depending on what the fish eat, which is why the levels vary.

This is from the EPA website. The advisories are based on Mercury in our waterways. Its a good site Just google up fish eating advisories. Also included are which have the least contamination.

Deweylure

Our family loves to fish, we also love to eat fish. We do practice catch and release on smaller fish, but for the most part I have taught my boys that fishing just to shove a huge piece of metal through an animals body and then drag it out of its natural environment is inhumane. If you do not intend to eat it, do not fish for it. Would anyone think that it is right to shoot at a deer without the intent to take it home to eat? NO! Fish are no different. Should one clean and cook a fish just to throw it away? NO! If the boy has to wait until there is someone around to eat, so be it. LNT is great, I am fully behind it, but that should not be the end of our responsibility to our world and environment. Although much of my personal income depends on anglers, I am still extremely opposed to fishing tournoments, and my business never has and never will sponsor any such activity that promotes causing an animal pain for sport.

At summer camp last year the boys taking fishing mb cooked there fish and when they took them up to the scout craft area we had no promblem eating every last piece.