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The Circle Hook
By BRANDON DANE
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Starting January 1, 2007, every
sport fishing vessel involved in
an Atlantic billfish tournament
and targeting Highly Migratory
Species (HMS) such as blue or white marlin
must use “non-offset circle hooks” when
using natural bait or natural/artificial lure
combinations. J-hooks, however, remain
legal when used with artificial lures.
This circle hook regulation was mandated
by the National Marine Fisheries Service
(NMFS) and published in the October 2,
2006 issue of the Federal Register (Vol. 71,
No. 190). It states that anglers who participate
in a tournament “that bestows points,
prizes, or awards for Atlantic billfish must
deploy only non-offset circle hooks when
using natural bait or natural/artificial lure
combinations, and may not deploy a Jhook
or offset circle hook in combination
with natural bait or a natural bait/artificial
lure combination.”
According to International Game Fish
Association (IGFA) Conservation Director
Jason Schratwieser, the November 8,
2006 meeting over the issue at the IGFA
headquarters in Dania Beach, Fla. was
contentious. “There were a portion that
were against this – primarily from the
Eastern Seaboard,” he told Worldwide Angler.
“They just don’t believe that blue or
white marlin can be caught without using
[J-hooks],” Schratwieser said, however,
that studies have shown circle hooks to
be preferable to J-hooks for conservation
purposes.
Randy Gregory, a marine biologist for
the North Carolina Division of Marine
Fisheries (NCDMF) and the Program Coordinator
of the North Carolina Governor’s
Cup fishing tournaments, said that anglers
in “any area above Florida” including North
Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia, had
a very different fishery than South Florida.
“[Anglers here] troll a lure/dead bait combination
like a ‘Hawaiian Eye’ pretty fast,
at about six knots, and it’s very difficult
to rig a circle on those combinations,” he
said.
Circle hooks are shaped like a capital
“G.” This, claims the NMFS, aids in preventing
the hook from “catching in the
gut or throat of a fish, where it can cause
significant internal injury.” Instead, a
circle hook is designed to catch in the jaw
or corner of the mouth. Mortality rates for
fish hooked on circle hooks are typically
about half that of fish hooked on J-hooks.
Director Schratwieser said that the state of
Florida had been one of the pioneers with
regard to circle hooks. “We took it upon
ourselves to begin this conservation effort,”
he said. “The horse left the barn, here
in Florida, some time ago.”
Gregory said, however, that the tournament
directors in North Carolina were
concerned with the effect the new mandate
would have on business. “The North Carolina
Governor’s Cup is seven tournaments,”
he said. “Big Rock and Pirate’s Cove [sport
fishing tournaments] are the largest and
most well-known. The directors of these
tournaments are concerned that it [will
hamper the success of the tournaments].”
Gregory added that the biggest concern for
North Carolina anglers was when heavier
tackle was used in conjunction with circle
hooks. Tournaments and the North Carolina
Governor’s Cup have been encouraging
anglers to use circle hooks for “light
tackle” billfishing for several years now.
Billfish tournaments in the Mid-Atlantic
region have lobbied the NMFS for an
Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP) as well
as “amendment” to the mandate. The
NCDMF, a North Carolina state agency,
has also requested an EFP in order to collect
data such as hooking locations, fight
times and fish conditions on billfish landed
or released in North Carolina tournaments.
In both the EFP and the amendment, Jhooks
could be fished with natural bait if
main lines were 80-pound test or greater
with a 200-pound leader, and circle hooks
would be required on main lines less than
80-pound test with 200-pound leaders. The
EFP, as of February 2, 2007, was rejected.
At publication, there was no resolution regarding
the proposed amendment.
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