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You use a reef hook because there is a strong current and you have a good reason to stay in one place. There are dives where all of the attraction is concentrated in one location. So while the reef hook is never "necessary," the dive might be considerably less appealing, or pointless, even, without it.
I applaud your concern for the health of the coral. Theoretically, the hooks are only used on dead coral. There probably wouldn't be such a ready supply of dead coral if not for eager divers, but it is probably also true that there would be more damage without the hooks--a lot less without the divers, though.
Another thing to consider is, how safe is the practice? HERE is a good discussion on the risks of reef hook use, including the worst-case scenario.
Some of the dives in the Maldives may require the diver to maintain a static position in heavy current. For example, observing sharks from the edge of a fast-flow channel between atolls (sharks prefer the fast flowing water - more oxygen to the gills, less effort).
Reef Hooks are ideal for this purpose. You don't hook onto coral though - find a patch of rock.
Vladmir raises the issue of safety... that's very real. You need to have your brain turned on, if you're going to attach yourself to the seabed.
I think I'll opt for bringing a reef hook, in case there is some specific dive that require it. However, I'll make it hand-held instead of clipping it to my BC. The latter, at least at my skill level, seems close to suicidal.
And now I feel the need to add a knife to my gear.
I occasionally use a reef hook, gives me two hands free to photograph subjects in a fast current.
I did not have one when I dived in the Maldives back in 1998 but I sure wish I did, and it was after that trip I bought one. On one dive I was hanging onto a rock as several large humphead wrasse swam around me as close as 1m with the strobes on my housing horizontal and basically in the wrong position for taking photographs, plus adjusting the camera settings near impossible.
The thing is, I won't be using a camera, and wherever I would anchor a hook, I could probably grab with a hand.
I feel it's going to be the most pointless toy I'll ever buy, but I'm also sure that If I don't buy it I'll flash past a ballet of sharks, turtles and the Loch Ness monster, while everybody else hooks to that spot where only a reef hook can hook you.
Consider this ... why would you want to grab anything with your hand, touching a rather large area, when you could use a reef hook, whose contact point, if well-placed (on rock or dead coral), may be about 5mm in diameter? I've spent entire dives hooked in, in one place, hands free, watching the marine life parade past me. This is not something easy to do or even practical when you're "hanging on" with your hands. In doing so, I feel I've caused less potential damage, if any, than if I'd used my hands.
Here's a link to a Master Clip that can be released simply by squeezing; there's no need to relieve the load on it to unclip it from a D-ring, as would be the case in a heavy current. I wouldn't use my reef hook without this attachment at my BC.
A neighbor recently returned from Palau and used a reef hook for the first time. Photos of him showed the current was screaming by and he described it as so strong that he avoided turning sideways so his mask wasnt ripped off. I think he said they bought it there for $16. All things considered, it is a small investment and I would follow the recommendation. You could always choose not to use it but it would be the pits if you needed it.
In my opinion, the reef hook shown above is dangerous because of the snap attachment. Under a heavy load caused by a current, this snap can become difficult, if not impossible, to release from a D-ring. One has to open the gate and then pull the entire load against the current to get it off the D-ring. In the picture below, the clip needs only to be squeezed. The current will do the rest to disengage the clip. I think this is a safer attachment for a reef hook.
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