Possible. It could be that the industry inflates the numbers because they want to seem bigger than they are. Note that baitfish is not even the most popular type of bait.
One thing to consider though is how many baitfish people take per fishing trip. After a brief search, I haven’t found exact numbers but this website is advising:
Request a discount when purchasing in bulk. Injured minnows may be sold at a discounted rate, but fish that are injured rarely thrive after a change in environment. Instead, request a free dozen for every 10 dozen that you purchase.
So I imagine that fishermen who do buy baitfish, buy a lot of it. I also read that they often don’t use them all and throw the rest into a lake, even though that causes ecological issues and everyone is asking fishermen not to do it.
In general, I understand your intuition and I will probably think about this more later.
Possible. It could be that the industry inflates the numbers because they want to seem bigger than they are. Note that baitfish is not even the most popular type of bait.
One thing to consider though is how many baitfish people take per fishing trip. After a brief search, I haven’t found exact numbers but this website is advising:
So I imagine that fishermen who do buy baitfish, buy a lot of it. I also read that they often don’t use them all and throw the rest into a lake, even though that causes ecological issues and everyone is asking fishermen not to do it.
In general, I understand your intuition and I will probably think about this more later.
in https://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=246812.0 an angler asks in a forum how many minnows should she buy for her fishing trip. The most common answer is 2-3 dozens.