I have several of the dead tournament bass in my freezer. Rarely do I ever see any go to waste, as most participants will gladly take them home.

Most tournament guys treat bass as their friends, and sometimes shed a tear when one goes belly up.

KDFWR monitors bass tournaments, their catches, and mortality rates - such things are taken into account when establishing yearly creel limits. If things were going badly, you'd see them make some changes.

You have to have fish die and can't expect them to all live...overpopulation is a bad thing, and fish kills keep it in check, whether you like it or not.