Quantifying fish escape under a bottom trawl

Nguyen, Vang Y.; Bayse, Shannon M.; Einarsson, Haraldur Arnar; Ingólfsson, Ólafur Arnar

doi:10.1016/j.fishres.2023.106796

Cited by 1 publication

(2 citation statements)

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“…A small experiment compared both the semi-pelagic trawl described above at full-scale, as well as the trawl rigged as a conventional trawl, which simply involved the removal of the extended bridle cables and attached the warp/upper bridle back to the door. The conventional trawl setup is described in Cheng et al (2020) and Nguyen et al (2023) . The goal of this work was to test both trawls ability to capture redfish and bycatch species.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These authors revealed that using T90 codends can reduce the capture of small redfish compared with the currently used 90 mm diamond mesh codend. Additionally, Nguyen et al (2023) developed a shaking codend using the T90 codend that further improved the size selectivity of redfish. Increasing the mesh size of diamond mesh codends has also demonstrated potential for reducing the capture of small redfish ( Pol, 2016 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Developing a semi-pelagic trawl to capture redfish in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada

Nguyen,

Bayse,

Winger

et al. 2023

PeerJ

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In this study, we developed a semi-pelagic trawl to target redfish (Sebastes spp.) and potentially reduce the capture of bycatch species and seabed impacts in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada. The new trawl used an innovative technique connecting the upper bridles of the trawl to the warps, anterior of the trawl doors, leading to the trawl system being fished off the seabed. Such a technique can be used to match the heights of redfish as they move above the seabed during their diurnal cycle while allowing bycatch species related to the seabed to escape under the trawl. A 1:10 scale model of the trawl was constructed and evaluated in a flume tank to optimize the rigging and then a full-scale trawl was constructed for sea trials. Two field experiments subsequently evaluated the trawl at sea. The first field experiment concentrated on the experimental trawl’s operation and video observations of redfish behaviour in the trawl mouth and its effect on trawl entry. The second field experiment concentrated on a small-scale preliminary test on the catch of redfish and bycatch species when the trawl was on or off the seabed. Capture results, though preliminary, indicate that redfish can be targeted commercially with a semi-pelagic trawl, though some redfish will escape under the trawl. Additionally, results suggest that the catches of bycatch species may be reduced. In conclusion, this study suggests that a semi-pelagic trawl could be considered an effective technique to harvest redfish sustainably.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%