{"id":11366,"date":"2017-07-28T00:00:56","date_gmt":"2017-07-28T04:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shorebeat.com\/brick\/?p=11366"},"modified":"2017-07-28T03:20:07","modified_gmt":"2017-07-28T07:20:07","slug":"free-fishing-hooks-available-to-help-save-throwback-fluke","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/2017\/07\/free-fishing-hooks-available-to-help-save-throwback-fluke\/","title":{"rendered":"Free Fishing Hooks Available to Help Save ‘Throwback’ Fluke"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"NJDEP<\/a>

NJDEP staff deliver flounder hooks to Fisherman\u2019s Supply in Point Pleasant Beach. (Photo: Daniel Nee)<\/p><\/div>\n

Switching up the hooks used to catch summer flounder could help save the lives of fish too short to legally keep, saving them to swim another day, officials believe.<\/p>\n

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection will distribute 20,000 free \u201cJ hooks,\u201d sometimes called circle hooks, to tackle shops around the state as part of its \u201cIf You Can\u2019t Keep It, Save It\u201d program. The state fought \u2013 and won \u2013 a battle with a federal regulatory agency<\/a> to keep the minimum size for summer flounder at 18-inches this season, saying increasing the size to 19-inches would have meant more fish would die from being thrown back than caught and eaten.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are asking all anglers to help protect summer flounder for future generations,\u201d DEP Commissioner Bob Martin said. \u201cNew Jersey is fully committed to doing the right thing by using science and public education to conserve a species that is critical to the fishing culture and economy of New Jersey.\u201d<\/p>\n

The hooks were donated by Eagle Claw, a major manufacturer of fishing tackle. The first boxes were delivered to Fisherman\u2019s Supply in Point Pleasant Beach on Thursday, with DEP representatives on hand.<\/p>\n

Jim Donofrio, founder of the Recreational Fishing Alliance, was also on hand to introduce the program. Donofrio\u2019s group lobbied hard to keep the minimum size limit at 18-inches. Ultimately, Trump administration officials backed the state over the regulatory body, which consisted of many holdovers from the previous administration.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019d be killing more fish at 19 [inches],\u201d said Donofrio. \u201cDEP did an outstanding job of making that case, and the secretary [of commerce] agreed. Mr. Trump has some of the best and brightest hired there, people who know fisheries, not political hacks.\u201d<\/p>\n

The plan to distribute the hooks dated back to January, when officials were looking for ways to reduce what is known as \u201cdiscard mortality,\u201d the number of fish that die from being thrown back because they do not meet the legal size limit, said\u00a0Larry Herrighty, director of the state Division of Fish and Wildlife.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring a survey we did this spring, sportsmen said they were willing to try new techniques to minimize mortality,\u201d said\u00a0Herrighty. \u201cSo we developed this campaign and we\u2019re very pleased that Eagle Claw donated these hooks.\u201d<\/p>\n

For a list of shops where the hooks are available, visit: www.SaveFluke.nj.gov<\/a> or follow the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife on Facebook at NJFISHANDWILDLIFE.<\/p>\n

ALSO:<\/strong><\/p>\n

As part of its campaign, the Division of Fish and Wildlife encourages anglers to follow these techniques:<\/span><\/p>\n