Use of the traditional halibut hook of the Makah Tribe, the čibu.d, reduces bycatch in recreational halibut fisheries.

Joseph R Petersen,Maria R Gonzalez,Joe Scordino,Cole I Svec,Jonathan J Scordino,Reginald H Buttram

doi:10.7717/peerj.9288

Joseph R Petersen, Maria R Gonzalez + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.9288

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Abstract

A previous study found that use of the traditional halibut hook (čibu.d) of the Makah Tribe in present day recreational Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis) fisheries significantly reduced bycatch compared to paired 8/0 circle hooks. The study also found that the čibu.d had a significantly reduced catch of halibut, but that the reduction may have been due to manufacturing flaws in the čibu.d used in the study. In this two-phased study, we first compared the fishing performance of redesigned čibu.d made from four different materials: brass, stainless steel, plastic, and wood. In the second phase, we compared the fishing performance of the brass čibu.d with two common recreational fishing set-ups: a single large 16/0 circle hook and paired 8/0 circle hooks. The fishing performance of the redesigned čibu.d was not statistically different for čibu.d made of brass, stainless steel, or plastic. However, the čibu.d made from wood had significantly lower catch of halibut than the other čibu.d. We selected the brass čibu.d for the second phase of the study for continuity with the previous study of čibu.d and found that it had significantly less bycatch and a lower bycatch ratio than both the paired 8/0 and single 16/0 circle hooks. No significant differences were found in catch rates of halibut for paired 8/0 circle hooks, 16/0 circle hook, and the brass čibu.d. This study demonstrates that the improved catching performance of čibu.d on halibut and reduced bycatch compared to other popular approaches can be achieved by using brass čibu.d. Managers of recreational halibut fisheries should consider the use of čibu.d in areas where bycatch is a concern.

Highlights

The ecological impacts of recreational fishing have commonly been overlooked in favor of focusing on the impacts of commercial fisheries, but the effects of recreational fisheries can be significant to both the target species and bycatch (McPhee, Leadbitter & Skilleter, 2002; Coleman et al, 2004)
In phase 1, we evaluated if the material used to construct čibu·d affects their fishing performance by comparing catch rates on čibu·d made of brass, stainless steel, plastic, and wood
The observed differences in catch rates were due to significantly less catch of halibut on wood than on stainless steel, brass, or plastic čibu·d (Tukey Honestly Significantly Different (HSD), p < 0.001 for all comparisons to wood; Fig. 4)

Summary

Introduction

The ecological impacts of recreational fishing have commonly been overlooked in favor of focusing on the impacts of commercial fisheries, but the effects of recreational fisheries can be significant to both the target species and bycatch (McPhee, Leadbitter & Skilleter, 2002; Coleman et al, 2004). Use of the traditional halibut hook of the Makah Tribe, the čibu·d, reduces bycatch in recreational halibut fisheries. Bycatch released at sea is vulnerable to a variety of stressors, including risk of infection from hooking injuries, loss of predator avoidance, barotrauma, and other stress induced by time on deck, all of which can directly impact the ability of a bycaught fish to survive (Trumble, 1996). Some species bycaught in recreational halibut fisheries, because of their physiology (like rockfish) or because of their life history (like spiny dogfish) (Stevens et al, 2000), are vulnerable to overfishing even at modest levels of incidental mortality during fisheries. Improving the selectivity of fishing gear used in recreational halibut fisheries would make them more sustainable and minimize their impacts on non-target species

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