Comparison of circle hook and J hook catch rate for target and bycatch species taken in the Korean tuna longline fishery

Abstract

The circle hook experiments were conducted to compare the catch rates of target and bycatch species between J hook and circle hooks in the tuna longline fishery of the eastern Pacific Ocean between <TEX>$1^{\circ}48'S-7^{\circ}00'S\;and\;142^{\circ}00'-149^{\circ}13'W$</TEX> from July 15 to August 12, 2005. In the target species group no significant differences among 3 types hook, between size 4.0 traditional tuna hooks(J-4) and size 15 circle hooks(C15), and between C15 and size 18 circle hooks(C18) were revealed, but significant differences were found between J-4 and C18. In the bycatch species group significant differences were found among 3 types hook, between J 4 and C15, and between J-4 and C18, but no significant differences were revealed between C15 and C18. Large circle hook(C18) had the lowest catch rate for tunas and for other fishes, and the small circle hook(C15) had lowest rate for billfishes and sharks. The length distributions for bigeye tuna are very similar for the 3 hook types. There were very slight differences in length size between hook types in the bycatch species.