Effects of hook size and barbless hooks on hooking injury, catch per unit effort, and fish size in a mixed-species recreational fishery in the western Mediterranean Sea

The effects of hook size (small vs. large) and type (conventional vs. barbless) on hooking injury, catch per unit effort (cpue), and fish size in a mixed-species recreational fishery in the Balearic Islands (western Mediterranean) are evaluated. Hook size was the most important predictor of deep-hooking, which is reduced by the use of large hooks. The size of fish captured was another predictor of deep-hooking incidence, because large fish tended to be caught in deep-hooking locations. Deep-hooking was highly correlated with the presence of bleeding, and unhooking time was reduced by the use of large hooks and barbless hooks, although differences were small. To determine the effects of different hook treatments on cpue and species composition, a mixed-effect linear model was used as a univariate procedure, and redundancy analysis was used as a multivariate analysis. Results showed a drastic decrease in cpue with barbless hooks. In contrast, large hooks reduced the incidence of hooking injuries, with a small reduction in catch rate. Moreover, large hooks were associated with a larger mean size of fish caught than small hooks. Hence, control of hook size, along with other traditional management measures that involve the release of fish, is presented as a management option for sustainable development of recreational fisheries in the western Mediterranean Sea.