MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Agriculture (DA) is encouraging the wider use of circle hooks to catch tuna as part of the initiatives being implemented by the Philippines and five other countries in conserving marine resources in the Coral Triangle.
The use of circle hooks, which is now being done by three tuna fishing companies operating in the Philippines would be required in long-line tuna fishing by the middle of this year.
According to Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap, the use of circle hooks to catch tuna is boosted by the growing preference of consumers to buy products from companies that use dolphin-safe and turtle-free fishing devices.
Circle hooks (which resemble a semi-circle) are much less likely to be swallowed by marine turtles than traditional J-shaped hooks which cause suffocation or internal bleeding when swallowed.
Thousands of endangered marine turtles were saved last year in the Coral Triangle region, which includes the Philippines, with the implementation of the Circle Hook and Turtle Recovery Program, according to the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF).
The Coral Triangle is home to a majority of the world’s known coral reefs and species as well as to more than 350 million inhabitants combined in the six countries that border it.
The six Coral Triangle countries are the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Timor Leste.
During the first-ever Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) Business Summit held recently in the Philippines, the DA officially endorsed the use of circle hooks in tuna fishing.