Effects of hook size and barbless hooks on hooking injury, catch per unit effort, and fish size in a mixed-species recreational fishery in the western Mediterranean Sea

Abstract

Alós, J., Palmer, M., Grau, A. M., and Deudero, S. 2008. Effects of hook size and barbless hooks on hooking injury, catch per unit effort, and fish size in a mixed-species recreational fishery in the western Mediterranean Sea. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 65: 899–905. The effects of hook size (small vs. large) and type (conventional vs. barbless) on hooking injury, catch per unit effort (cpue), and fish size in a mixed-species recreational fishery in the Balearic Islands (western Mediterranean) are evaluated. Hook size was the most important predictor of deep-hooking, which is reduced by the use of large hooks. The size of fish captured was another predictor of deep-hooking incidence, because large fish tended to be caught in deep-hooking locations. Deep-hooking was highly correlated with the presence of bleeding, and unhooking time was reduced by the use of large hooks and barbless hooks, although differences were small. To determine the effects of different hook treatments on cpue and species composition, a mixed-effect linear model was used as a univariate procedure, and redundancy analysis was used as a multivariate analysis. Results showed a drastic decrease in cpue with barbless hooks. In contrast, large hooks reduced the incidence of hooking injuries, with a small reduction in catch rate. Moreover, large hooks were associated with a larger mean size of fish caught than small hooks. Hence, control of hook size, along with other traditional management measures that involve the release of fish, is presented as a management option for sustainable development of recreational fisheries in the western Mediterranean Sea.

Hook Selectivity in an Artisanal Spotted Rose Snapper Lutjanus guttatus Fishery on the Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica

“…The difference in the catch rates of Spotted Rose Snapper between #10 and #8 hooks cannot be explained simply as an increase in the catch of smaller fish, though, since size selectivity between these hooks was not observed. One explanation may be that smaller hooks are more likely to be swallowed and therefore hooked more deeply in the body (Alós et al 2008b), reducing the likelihood of a fish escaping. Our analysis revealed that the catch rates of 11 additional fish species, one fish genus, and various species of echinoderms (seastars) were also inversely proportional to hook size (Table 2).…”

“…Circle hooks could maintain or even increase the catch rates of the target species (Løkkeborg and Bjordal 1992;Woll et al 2001), especially for those species that tend to be hooked in the mouth (Løkkeborg and Bjordal 1992). In addition, circle hooks could reduce the mortality of released fish (Alós et al 2008b). If fishers were to adopt a slot limit, circle hooks could allow large and small fish to be released with less injury.…”

“…Increasing the hook size used in a fishery can exclude undersized fish (Alós et al 2008a(Alós et al , 2008bOtway and Craig 1993) as well as decrease the catch rate of nontarget species (Otway and Craig 1993;Erzini et al 1996Erzini et al , 1998Alós et al 2008aAlós et al , 2008b. In a study of the Australasian Snapper Pagrus auratus, Otway and Craig (1993) found that increasing hook size from a #12 to a #10 Mustad tuna hook reduced the catch of illegal (<250-mm) fish by 50% without impacting the catch of legal (≥250-mm) fish.…”

STRATEGI PENGEMBANGAN PERIKANAN PANCING ULUR DI BABANA MAMUJU TENGAH SULAWESI BARAT (Strategy of Handline Fishery Development at Babana Central Mamuju West Sulawesi)

“…Disisi lain, upaya meningkatkan efektivitas penangkapan diharapkan dapat terjadi, sehingga produktivitas penangkapan ikan dapat ditingkatkan. Teknologi pancing ulur yang masih sangat sederhana, dimungkinkan untuk memodifikasi alat tangkap untuk meningkatkan produksi dengan mempertimbangkan bukaan mulut dan panjang badan dari ikan target atau menambah upaya yang selektif dan ramah lingkungan (Alo's et al 2008). Berdasarkan hasil penelitian Ralston (1982) bahwa penggunaan ukuran mata pancing yang lebih besar memberikan ukuran hasil tangkapan yang lebih besar yakni sebesar 71% dibandingkan dengan ukuran mata pancing yang kecil hanya sebesar 29%.…”

Estimation of peacock bass (Cichla spp.) mortality rate during catch-release fishing employing different post-capture procedures

“…There is some evidence that catch-and-release mortality rates are strongly influenced by the biological characteristics of the target species (Muoneke and Childress, 1994). However, certain other factors, such as the body part of the fish that was hooked (Pope et al, 2007;Alós et al, 2008), the type of bait (Reeves and Bruesewitz, 2007) and the fighting and handling time (Cooke and Suski, 2004) could also be determinants of mortality rate. Broadhurst et al (2005), studying the mortality rate of the main target species of Australian estuary sport fishing, reported mortality rates between 0 and 36.6% and found that the body part hooked and the time taken to release the fish were the main factors influencing mortality.…”