Scientific and Stakeholder Perspectives on the Use of Circle Hooks in Recreational Fisheries

Abstract

catch-and-release science has revealed that one of the strongest correlates of mortality for fishes is deep hooking in areas such as the esophagus, gills, or stomach, which is largely influenced by gear choice and angler behavior. circle hooks represent a gear type that has been shown to reduce incidences of deep hooking, but not for all species or fishing methods. The apparent condition-dependent success as well as wide range of circle hook configurations causes confusion for the angling community and challenges for fisheries managers. an online snowballstyle survey (n = 1354 completed) targeting north american anglers that have used circle hooks was implemented to examine stakeholder perspectives, an approach that has the potential to reveal issues and opportunities with respect to circle hook use and implementation as a management tool. our survey identified that respondent perspectives tended to be consistent with scientific literature. Most respondents reported that circle hooks are useful (in terms of enabling capture and shallow hooking) for certain species and types of fisheries/methods, but of little use for others (i.e., low hookup rates). however, a number of respondents identified the need for additional education, particularly related to hook sets. Most respondents were apprehensive about broad-scale regulations requiring circle hooks, but felt that such regulations could be used in specific instances. identifying the factors that influence when circle hooks are effective and the barriers to angler adoption of circle hooks in instances where they are deemed effective represent key research needs. regional or fishery-specific social science surveys based on random sampling are needed to further advance understanding of circle hooks and ultimately lead to a reduction in deep hooking and fish mortality.

Risk perceptions and conservation ethics among recreational anglers targeting threatened sharks in the subtropical Atlantic

“…We used a purposive snowball internet survey, which despite some limitations (Davis & Wagner 2003, Neis et al 1999, enabled us to assess the responses of a group that would otherwise have been difficult to reach (Atkinson & Flint 2001, Cooke et al 2012. We recognize that snowball surveys may fail to reach certain segments of the population due to lack of internet access, familiarity, trust and skill (known as the digital divide; Norris 2001), thereby warranting caution in generalizing these results to all saltwater anglers.…”

“…This method of survey distribution and data collection has been widely used in the social sciences as well as in the fisheries literature (e.g. Hasler et al 2011, Cooke et al 2012, Peterson & Carothers 2013, and is well suited to obtaining valuable responses on potentially sensitive issues from informed and experienced users (Neis et al 1999, Boudreau & Worm 2010. Purposive snowball-style internet surveys have a number of advantages over conventional survey designs but also have important limitations -notably the non-random samplingbased survey design, which precludes generalized insights (Fricker & Schonlau 2002, Beidernikl & Kerschbaumer 2007.…”

Shark recreational fisheries: Status, challenges, and research needs

“…For example, it is unclear the extent to which different hook styles and sizes influence catch rates, injury, and survival. Given that anatomical hooking location is one of the biggest single drivers of CR outcomes (deep hooking in esophagus being bad; Cooke et al 2012), selection of hooks that minimize deep hooking (e.g., circle hooks; Cooke and Suski 2004;Serafy et al 2012) shows much promise for shark recreational fisheries that use bait but more research is needed (Serafy et al 2012). Another issue relevant to large toothy fish such as sharks is tackle failure where line breaks and sharks retain hooks.…”

The chemical signature of retained hooks in mulloway (Argyrosomus japonicus) revealed by otolith microchemistry

“…The promotion of circle hooks among commercial and recreational fishers is perhaps the most popular recommendation to reduce the occurrence of deep-hooking (Afonso et al, 2011;Alós et al, 2009b;Butcher et al, 2008;Cooke et al, 2012;Cooke and Suski, 2004;Gilman et al, 2006;Parga et al, 2015;Read, 2007;Serafy et al, 2012). Its design is characterized by the 90 • angle of the hook point towards the shank to form a circular shape; this design has been proven to reduce the occurrence of deephooking across numerous species.…”