Do circle hooks reduce bycatch?…It depends.
Last week, NOAA hosted over 160 marine scientists, fisheries managers, gear experts, and commercial and recreational fishermen, from 20 countries, in Coral Gables, FL, for the first international symposium on circle hooks in research, management and conservation. While we all came away more informed about circle hooks, we left with more questions about their effectiveness for catching target species and reducing bycatch.