Circle hook effectiveness for the mitigation of sea turtle bycatch and capture of target species in a Brazilian pelagic longline fishery.

The article presents a study which examines the effectiveness of circle hooks against the J-type hooks in reducing the bycatches of loggerhead and leatherback sea turtle in the Brazilian pelagic longline fishery in south Atlantic Ocean. It involved an alternating control and experimental hooks scattered along the sections of the mainline from 2004 and 2008. It concludes that circle hooks are effective in the conservation of sea turtles, while increasing the catch rates of main target species.