Fishing

Circle Hook - the use of circle-shaped hooks instead of commonly used J-shaped hooks can significantly reduce the bycatch of turtles in longline fisheries
© WWF / Jill Hatzai

Circle hooks

WWF is working with the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) and other partners to introduce a new type of hook in eastern Pacific longline fisheries that reduces marine turtle deaths by as much as 90 per cent without adversely affecting catches of swordfish and tuna. 

The new "circle" hooks are much less likely to be swallowed by turtles than traditional J-shaped hooks, which cause suffocation or internal bleeding when swallowed. 

Circle hooks are also easier to unhook from a snagged animal. Mustad, the world's largest fishing hook manufacturer based in Norway, and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have donated over 250,000 circle hooks to WWF for trials in the East and West Pacific Ocean. 

WWF is also helping with the testing of different types of fish bait, the use of de-hookers, and training in turtle release techniques in these fisheries.

Fishing Technology That’s Letting Turtles Off the Hook

Read a new report released by WWF and the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) on the progress of alternative fishing technology to save turtles while not affecting fish catches.The report demonstrates how changing from the classic J hook to circular hooks, providing adequate training and tools to release turtles accidentally hooked and enhancing sustainable fishing practices, can dramatically reduce incidental catch (bycatch) of marine turtles without impacting fishing activity.

Download the report Bycatch Initiative: Eastern Pacific Program, A Vehicle Towards Sustainable Fisheries (English / Espanol) or a copy of the report fact sheet (English)

The program was carried out with the voluntary participation of nearly 1,300 fishermen, conducting over 1,400 fishing trips on 305 artisanal fishing boats. Data gathered by independent on-board observers show an overall significant trend of bycatch reduction for both TBS (tuna, billfishes and sharks) and mahi-mahi fisheries, with reductions up to 89% in the marine turtle bycatch per thousand hooks; 95% of all turtles caught in long-line fishing were recovered alive; and circle hooks performed as well as J hooks in the catch rates of tuna, billfishes and sharks fishery.

Learn more about how WWF is addressing the marine turtle bycatch challenge