Sustainability

Julian and the team operate a strict catch and release policy when shark fishing. It's the only way forward if we are to keep a healthy shark fishery. Other ports have found out that if you kill your sharks you also kill your sport. Take the port of Looe in Cornwall for example, in its heyday, boats would return with numerous sharks that were killed to be weighed and photographed. But today the port is a shadow of its former self. The port of Looe is still the headquarters of the shark angling club of Great Britain with many great records. But Milford Haven in west Wales must be one of the hottest shark venues in the UK at present.

Effective catch and release fishing techniques avoid excessive fish fighting and handling times, avoid damage to fish skin, scale and slime layers by nets, dry hands and dry surfaces (that leave fish vulnerable to fungal skin infections), and avoid damage to throat ligaments and gills by poor handling techniques.

The use of barbless hooks is an important aspect of catch and release. Barbless hooks reduce injury and handling time, increasing survival. Frequently, fish caught on barbless hooks can be released without being removed from the water, and the hook(s) effortlessly slipped out with a single flick of the pliers or leader. Barbless hooks can be purchased from several major manufacturers or can be created from a standard hook by crushing the barb(s) flat with needle-nosed pliers. Some anglers avoid barbless hooks because of the erroneous belief that too many fish will escape. Concentrating on keeping the line tight at all times while fighting fish, equipping lures that do not have them with split rings, and using recurved point or "Triple Grip" style hooks on lures, will keep catch rates with barbless hooks as high as those achieved with barbed hooks.