A comparison of circle hook and "J" hook performance in recreational catch-and-release fisheries for billfish

This study evaluates the performance of circle and comparable-size "J" hooks on Atlantic and Pacific sailfish Istiophorus platypterus and, to a lesser extent, on Pacific blue marlin Makaira nigricans. Terminal gear performances were assessed in terms of fishing success. hook location, and bleeding associated with physical hook damage and trauma. Evaluations of trolling with dead bait took place off Iztapa, Guatemala, during the spring and summer of 1999, and assessment of drifting/kite fishing with live bait took place Off South Florida during the summer of 1999. Three hundred and sixty Pacific sailfish were caught in Iztapa, Guatemala, to assess terminal gear performance; 235 sailfish were on circle hooks, and 125 were on "J" hooks. Circle hooks used on sailfish bad hooking percentages (i.e., fish hooked/fish bite) that were 1.83 times higher compared with "J" hooks. Once the fish were hooked, no difference in catch percentage (i.e., fish caught/fish hooked) between hook types was detected. Significantly more sailfish were hooked in the corner of the Mouth using circle hooks (85%). as compared with "J" hooks (27%). In contrast, significantly more sailfish were deep hooked in the throat and stomach with "J" hooks (46%), as compared with circle hooks (2%). Only one sailfish (1%) was foul hooked using circle hooks. while 11 (9%) sailfish caught on "J" hooks were foul hooked. Sailfish caught on "J" hooks are 21 times more likely to suffer hook-related bleeding than those caught on circle hooks. Seventy-five Atlantic sailfish were caught using circle hooks in the South Florida live bait recreational fishery to assess possible differences in hook performance between circle hooks with and without an offset point. No difference in catch percentage or bleeding was found between circle hooks with no offset, minor offset (about 4 degrees), or severe offset points (about 15 degrees). However, the percentage of deep hooking in the throat and stomach for circle hooks with a severe offset (44%) was comparable to the deep hooking percentage for "J" hooks (46%) used in the Guatemala study. A comparison of circle and "J" hook catch rates of Pacific sailfish and blue marlin, using logbook catch statistics from recreational fishing off Iztapa, Guatemala, was also conducted. In general, use of circle hooks resulted in measures of fishing success that were comparable to or higher than "J" hooks. Circle hooks also minimized deep hooking, foul hooking, and bleeding. Thus, the use of circle hooks has con-(sic).