As we had discussed several week backs, mortality from recreational fishing is an increasing and largely uncontrolled factor with a direct bearing on the health of many fish stocks. While this fact has been obvious to anyone who has observed the fishing scene  – though, of course, the entire recreational fishing industry is far gone in denial – it is now coming to the attention of the general public. As a matter of fact, a recent Pew-funded study by researchers Felicia Coleman (Florida State University), Will Figueira and Larry Crowder (Duke University) reported that “recreational catches account for nearly a quarter of the total take of over-fished populations in U.S. waters, including many of the most economically valuable species." (Pew SeaWeb Ocean Update, October 2004). And, according to Crowder, the authors of the study “likely underestimate the true impact of recreational fishing because we did not include fish that are discarded at sea or die from the effects of catch-and-release fishing." The study receiving the benefit of a full-blown Pew media blitz didn’t detract at all from its significance; intended and unintended recreational fishing mortality, at the uncontrolled level that characterizes it in the U.S., can and does damage fish stocks severely.

But, unbeknownst to most people that aren’t that familiar with fishing equipment and techniques, there’s a “quick and easy” fix for a large part of the recreational fishing mortality resulting from both releasing fish caught unintentionally (fish that are either illegal or undesirable to keep) or purposefully via “catch and release.” This is a fix that has already been adopted by the commercial fishing fleet in the U.S., and though it wouldn’t reduce the recreational release mortality to zero, it would make a significant difference, just as it has in the commercial longline fishery.

Circle hooks – longliners in the U.S. got the ball rolling

While to the average person a fish hook is just a fish hook, the knowledgeable fisherman – either professional or amateur – recognizes that there are a myriad of sizes and styles of hooks, each designed to do a different job, each designed to catch particular sizes/species of fish when coupled with different gear and used under varying conditions.

But in recent years a growing body of research has proven that a particular style of hook has pronounced conservation benefits far beyond those of the type of hooks that are traditionally employed in hook and line fishing. These hooks, generically referred to as “circle” hooks, have been shown to be far superior to the traditional “J” hooks in reducing injuries to (and hence survival of) fish and other animals caught and released in the course of fishing.*

The reason they are proving superior is a simple matter of hook geometry. When swallowed deeply, a “J” hook can easily penetrate a fish’s internal organs, causing severe injuries and heavy bleeding, but due to its shape a “circle” hook will be pulled out of the fish’s esophagus and mouth, ultimately lodging in the jaw bone or the angle of the jaw and generally inflicting only minor injury.

This has significant implications for commercial hook and line fisheries. One of the primary goals of fishermen has been and continues to be the minimization of damage to non-intended catch, and “circle” hooks have been proven to reduce injuries to bycatch species. But above and beyond that, “circle” hooks result in target species coming aboard in much better condition, which gives them a higher market price.

The rapidity with which circle hooks are being adopted in some commercial hook and line fisheries is edifying. Based on several years of research performed cooperatively with the National Marine Fisheries Service (see http://www.magazine.noaa.gov/stories/mag144.htm), the domestic pelagic longline fishery has switched completely to circle hooks, and in concert with that agency and several conservation groups, has embarked on a campaign to make their use mandatory in all similar fisheries worldwide.** This was initiated by the domestic pelagic longline fishery, whose members – through Blue Water Fishermen’s Association – are encouraging and supporting the program through outreach efforts to other longline fishermen worldwide.

But what about recreational angling?

According to NMFS, the “average” annual catch of saltwater anglers in the U.S. has been increasing in recent years, with the increase attributed to more “catch and release” fishing (a form of angling in which the fish, after being “battled” to exhaustion and brought to shore side or boat side, is released to either swim off, survive and be caught again on another day or to swim off, die and be recycled in the ecosystem). Accordingly, the use of “circle” hooks should be becoming even more significant in recreational angling. Unfortunately, this hasn’t been the case.

Here is a simple gear modification that would reduce the release mortality of recreationally caught fish significantly (as we reported in our last article, in the case of the severely depleted stocks of white marlin, from in the neighborhood of 35% to approaching zero). It is readily adaptable in virtually every style of recreational angling, and becoming increasingly relevant as “catch and release” fishing continues to gain in popularity. And circle hooks, once they were in wide use, would cost no more than the standard “J” hooks.

So what is the “official” reaction?

Imagine that an easily adopted gear modification was available that would drastically reduce the release mortality in a commercial fishery. You would be right in thinking that the National Marine Fisheries Service would move rapidly to mandate that modification in fisheries that could benefit. And that’s what NMFS did in the case of the commercial pelagic longline fishery.

But what has be done in the recreational fisheries? While it’s hard to believe, not very much at all. A couple of years back Crystal Straughn, in NOAA’s (NMFS’s parent agency)  wrote in An Easy Way to Conserve Big Game Fish “Realizing that conservation is a team effort, NOAA Fisheries is working with the recreational fishing industry to encourage the use of circle hooks when targeting big gamefish.” She continued that NMFS was providing monetary support to “conduct bait rigging seminars to aid participants (in a large fishing tournament) in the proper use of circle hooks” and that “this bold step will have every chance of success within this tournament and to promote the expansion of circle hook use in other tournaments on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts.” Some bold step!

And the reaction of the recreational angling industry?

While recreational angling advocacy groups continue to campaign against “industrial fishing fleets, walls of death gill nets, bulldozing otter trawls” and other mythological constructs designed to frighten dues out of the uninformed angler, about all they are doing regarding circle hooks is, like NOAA/NMFS, gently encouraging their use, while trumpeting the “conservation ethic” that they pretend is built into any type of recreational angling regardless of how many fish it kills. In fisheries like the East coast striped bass, where recreational catch and release mortality, which is almost totally attributable to the use of “J” hooks, exceeds the commercial quota, rather than making the use of circle hooks mandatory, they are pushing for legislation to close down the commercial fishery. Some conservation!

If you are in the habit of frequenting tackle shops – or even if you’re not – the next time you visit one compare the number of circle hooks that are displayed compared to the number of “J” hooks (and notice that virtually none of the artificial lures are equipped with circle hooks). Notice that recreational anglers and their advocates spend all of their time ranting against commercial fishermen and commercial fishing and none demanding that “J” hooks be phased out in favor of circle hooks.

This is a hook technology that is proven as a real conservation measure. It’s time that our managers, our legislators, the recreational angling community and the so-called conservation community recognized that and started to get actively and effectively engaged in reducing recreational fishing mortality instead of just pretending.

Nils E. Stolpe

* We won’t get into an involved discussion of what constitutes a circle hook here, but will say that it’s a hook generally circular in outline and with the point perpendicular to the shaft. A “J” hook, on the other hand, has the point parallel to the shaft. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has “defined” circle hooks in greater detail at http://www.asmfc.org/publications/specialReports/sr77CircleHookDefinition.pdf .

Selected references on circle hooks

http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/RecRules/circlehooks.htm

http://www.dnr.state.md.us/fisheries/fishingreport/crsb.html#RESULTS

http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/mediacenter/turtles/