New Research Confirms Benefits of Circle Hooks

26 Oct 20109:26 PM

Posted in Conservation Corner, Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation | Leave a comment

Still not sure if you should be using circle hooks? Well, you should be – because new scientific research backs up the claims (again) that billfish are much more likely to survive a catch-and-release encounter when caught on circle hooks compared to traditional J hooks.

Dr. John Graves of the Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences (and Chairman of the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation Scientific Advisory Board) has published new data which shows blue marlin, white marlin and sailfish derive substantial conservation benefits from the use of circle hooks.

Read the full report here. And, if you haven’t already, please make the switch to circle hooks today.

NOTE: Dr. Graves and others will take the circle hook debate one step further this May when the 2011 International Circle Hook Symposium is held in Miami (the event is sponsored in part by the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation and the Guy Harvey Research Institute). The symposium will provide a forum for the review and discussion of relevant research concerning the viability of using circle hooks in recreational and commercial fisheries.