The sport of fishing has changed over the past several decades. As the number of fishermen increase and the populations of sought-after fish species decrease, wildlife management agencies have been forced to impose greater restrictions on the number of fish that can be taken home, to the point where some species are designated catch-and-release only. Fortunately for the fishing enthusiast who would like to take home more than a memory of that great fish, the taxidermist can help.

Taxidermy has developed from a crude method of literally stuffing the skins of animals to a technologically-advanced means of preserving a majestic specimen for generations to come. Taxidermists who work with fish have faced an interesting challenge: preservation of the fish's skin and color requires such intensive processing, painting and lacquering that the end product, while beautiful, retains very little of the original fish. Moreover, if that fish mount isn't kept in proper atmospheric and lighting conditions, the colors can fade quite quickly.

The development of proper animal forms in the 20th century has presented taxidermists with a novel solution to the problems of fish availability and preservation. Now that they can buy and adapt high-quality, low-cost forms in a variety of poses, many taxidermists have begun to question why they need the body of the original fish at all. Concurrently, the increasing quality and affordability of digital cameras has enabled outdoorsmen of all types to take good-quality photos of their adventures. Now, the fisherman can catch the fish, take several great photographs within a few moments, then release it. Those photos serve as a template for the taxidermist to order, adapt and paint a form so precisely that it will look like that fish. The preservation of the materials is easier, since no one is having to fend off biological decay.

Catch and release taxidermy, also known as reproduction taxidermy, is beginning to get a foothold in other areas of hunting as well. Some taxidermists offer reproduction services for hunters returning from African safaris where only photography or shooting with darts is allowed. In this way just as with fish, the hunter can have a trophy of his elephant or rhino hunt even though the prey remains alive.

Reproduction taxidermy likely won't spread across the entire industry, because the populations of many types of wildlife are managed through hunting, so those hides will still be available for mounting. Catch and release taxidermy, however, offers an excellent solution for those who want a tangible memento of their wildlife challenge when the original specimen isn't available.