New Regulations - Shark Fishing & Circle Hooks

[Nikki Ann]

The NYS legislature passed and the Governor signed into law a bill requiring the mandatory use of Circle Hooks in NYS waters and in all Shark Tournaments in NYS.

A TOURNAMENT winning fish can be disqualified if taken on the wrong hook.

The bill can be found here................. http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/Fred-W- ... ory/60126/

Some good hook choices would be.....

The L2045G Eagle Claw.

The Mustad 39960D

Circles are fished differently than J hooks but that's perhaps a subject for another discussion.

Good luck & be safe!!

Matt

[MBILL]

This is another feel-good symbolic gesture made by NY politicians who don't bother with facts.
NY can only enforce this regulation out to 3 miles.

NYS would be better served by fixing the Bay Park sewage plant which is destroying our bays with a torrent of sewage on a daily basis but I suppose that would take an actual commitment on their part.

I won't participate in any tournament that enforces this "regulation"....

[abollaci]

I have been using both J and circles mixed up for a few years. I get 80 % of the J hooks back, The circles are extremely difficult to remove without mutilating the fish. Guess they should have thought about that before passing a bill.

[Little Bell]

Aside from it just being a dumb law to begin with, the tournament part is infuriating to me for the simple reason that I don't see what gives the State the grounds to enforce such a requirement.

As I said over on Noreast - They have no jurisdiction to legislate what happens beyond their borders or waters- so unless they are going to claim that ALL harvested sharks can only be returned to a NY port with a circle hook, how can they enforce this requirement on tournaments?

NYS can't control what I do with a shark caught in federal waters every other day of the year, what makes a tournament any different?

[thefishingline]

I'll use whatever hooks I want for whatever species I want..I am counting the days till Cuomo is caught up in this scandal and arrested like Skelos and the rest of them