There are a variety of tools that have been developed to aid in hook removal of angled fish that are intended for release. The premise of these tools is that they enable rapid hook removal while causing negligible injury to fish. Here we scientifically assessed the efficacy of dehooking tools for the removal of single barbed J-hooks from the jaw region (i.e., shallowly hooked) of smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu). Specifically, we compared dehooking time and physical injuries caused by using bare hands, hemostats, pliers, a push-pull device, and a mechanical dehooking device. Bare hands yielded the most rapid dehooking time and the least injury. Dehooking times were the longest for push-pull and mechanical dehooking tools. Moreover, those two purpose-built tools caused the most injury, including tissue tears and bleeding. Dehooking times were intermediate for hemostats and pliers, and they yielded injury similar to use of bare hands. Overall, there was no evidence of conservation benefit arising from use of dehooking tools with smallmouth bass caught on single barbed J-hooks. However, there are other contexts where they may be use useful, such as dehooking sharp-toothed fishes, and if fish are hooked in areas other than the jaw. This research suggests that dehooking tools are not universally useful to achieve optimal catch-and-release outcomes and their utility likely depends on context. Given the wide diversity of fish caught by recreational anglers, as well as the diversity and sizes of hooks, more research on hook removal tools is needed.

已经开发出多种工具来帮助去除打算释放的成角度的鱼钩。这些工具的前提是它们能够快速移除鱼钩，同时对鱼类造成的伤害可忽略不计。在这里，我们科学地评估了摘钩工具从小口黑鲈（Micropterus dolomieu）。具体来说，我们比较了使用裸手，止血钳，钳子，推拉装置和机械解钩装置造成的解钩时间和身体伤害。裸手摘钩时间最快，受伤最少。推拉和机械解钩工具的解钩时间最长。此外，这两个专用工具造成的伤害最大，包括组织撕裂和出血。止血钳和钳子的脱钩时间是中间的，它们所产生的伤害类似于裸手。总体而言，没有证据表明使用脱钩工具将小嘴鲈鱼夹在单个带刺的J钩上会产生保护效益。但是，在其他情况下也可能有用，例如将尖齿鱼摘钩，以及将鱼钩在下颚以外的其他地方。这项研究表明，摘机工具并不能普遍用于实现最佳的捕获和释放结果，其效用可能取决于具体情况。鉴于休闲垂钓者所捕捞的鱼种类繁多，以及钩子的种类和大小，需要对钩子去除工具进行更多的研究。