Don't get hooked on stainless steel
DERM image by George Aldridge
Queensland has some of the best fishing in the world. Fishers can enjoy perfect weather and a huge variety of fish in the rich tropical and sub-tropical waters.
Despite this abundance of marine life our fishing activity is causing some species to become threatened. In particular shark and ray species such as the grey nurse shark and estuary stingray used to be abundant but have now significantly declined.
Hooked...
Fishers do a good job when they cut a line that has a threatened shark or ray at the other end. This allows the animal to survive, breed and keep restocking the population.
Many hooks rust, and then drop off the animal troubling them no longer. However, stainless steel hooks can last for years. As they don't rust and remain sharp, imbedded hooks can cause further damage to the soft lining of the gut, especially if they have been swallowed.
Stainless steel hooks that are imbedded on the outside of an animal continuously wear leaving a raw wound open for infection. Hooks on smaller fish cause more problems down the food-chain when those fish are eaten by pelicans, other seabirds and sharks. The result is hooks get caught in their gut.
...and Tangled
Over time the trailing line from an imbedded hook begins to tangle around the animal. Tangled lines cut through the skin causing infected wounds and blood loss. Fishing lines that are discarded overboard are sometimes eaten by other marine life which can choke the animal or block their digestion. Discarded fishing lines last for a long time in the ocean, and continue to injure and kill fish, birds and marine mammals for years.
How can I help?
You can make a difference by being responsible with the fishing tackle you use and how it's discarded.
- Use non-stainless steel hooks. The majority of fishing tackle shops are good at encouraging the use of non-stainless steel hooks. Whenever you buy fishing tackle, ask for non-stainless steel hooks. Non-stainless steel hooks not only rust off an animal if you cut the line free, but are also cheaper too. Also ask for trace lines that degrade faster then stainless steel, such as graphite metal trace.
- Use barbless hooks that minimise the damage to the animal when removed. Barbless hooks also make the job of removing the hook and releasing the animal easier.
- Use circle hooks to avoid gut hooking, where the animal swallows the hook.
- Discard your fishing tackle responsibly. Throw away any discarded fishing tackle in a bin, not overboard, to prevent it from tangling marine life.
- Start up your own fishing line recovery project. A step-by-step guide is available for the Fishing Line Recovery Project (PDF)* at Noosa.
* Requires Adobe Reader
Last updated 22 March 2012