No abstract

Despite electric pulse fishing being regarded as a promising environmentally friendly fishing method, very little is known about possible negative effects on early life stages of bottom‐dwelling species such as Sole Solea solea. Electrotrawling for brown shrimp Crangon crangon is increasingly used in shallow coastal zones and estuaries of the southern North Sea. As these fishing grounds are often important nurseries and spawning areas for various marine species, electrotrawling could therefore harm inhabiting fishes during their early life stages. Hence, this research aims to investigate the effect of electric pulses used to catch brown shrimp on the survival and development of Sole embryos and larvae. Exposure of Sole embryos at 2 d postfertilization and larvae at 11 d posthatching to pulsed DC used to catch brown shrimp did not result in a lower survival 8 d after exposure. Additionally, no differences in yolk sac resorption and morphometric length measurements of the notochord, muscle, eye, and head were observed in the developing larvae.