The traditional small-scale octopus trap fishery off the Galician coast (Northeastern Atlantic): Historical notes and current fishery dynamics

Bycatch, discards and survival rates in the small‐scale cuttlefish trap fishery on sandy bottoms off the Algarve coast (southern Portugal)

“…Similarly, in the cuttlefish trap fishery in the Adriatic Sea (Italy), the discard rate was 9.0% by weight (Tsagarakis et al., ), whereas in the cuttlefish trammel net fishery in Mallorca Island (Spain), the proportion of discarded catches was 40.3% by number and 47.7% by weight (Gil et al., ). In the present study, discards from cuttlefish traps comprised 34 taxa and represented 70.2% of the bycatch biomass, which compares favourably with 95 species discarded from cuttlefish trammel nets (Gil et al., ) and 126 discarded species and 34 other taxa accounting for 85.4% of the bycatch biomass from octopus traps (Bañón et al., ).…”

“…Bycatch and discard rates are highly variable depending on the fishery, type of gear, target species and geographical location (e.g., Alverson et al., ; Tsagarakis et al., ), but also on fishing season, habitat, depth and type of bottom, altogether making comparisons difficult between fishing métiers and gears. Traps for cephalopods are among the most selective gears with few discards (Bañón et al., ; Tsagarakis et al., ). The bycatch rates recorded in the present study (21.1% by number and 15.9% by weight, comprising 38 bycatch taxa) closely match the 20% of bycatch species legally allowed for cuttlefish traps, further confirming the species selectivity and environmental sustainability of this artisanal fishing gear.…”

“…The bycatch rates recorded in the present study (21.1% by number and 15.9% by weight, comprising 38 bycatch taxa) closely match the 20% of bycatch species legally allowed for cuttlefish traps, further confirming the species selectivity and environmental sustainability of this artisanal fishing gear. For comparison, bycatch rates in the small‐scale octopus trap fishery off the Galician coast (Spain), also considered a monospecific fishery performed with a highly selective gear, were 29.6% by weight and comprised 135 bycatch species and 35 other taxa (Bañón et al., ). In addition, BTC ratios in the present trap fishery (0.3 bycatch specimens per cuttlefish and 0.2 kg of bycatch per kg of S. officinalis ) are among the lowest gear‐specific number‐based and weight‐based bycatch ratios (i.e.…”

“…The relative importance of discarding depends on several factors, including fishing strategies, fishermen behaviour, gear characteristics, catch composition, damage to the catch, marketing constraints and fishery regulations (e.g., Alverson, Freeberg, Pope & Murawski, ; Hall, ), therefore discarding patterns vary markedly among fisheries, target species, gears, regions, years and seasons (e.g., Rochet et al., ; Tsagarakis, Palialexis & Vassilopoulou, ). Accordingly, the analysis of discards within the context of European SSFs remains largely unknown (Bañón, Otero, Campelos‐Álvarez, Garazo & Alonso‐Fernández, ).…”

Effect of Coconut Leaves, Coconut Palm (Cocos nucifera) as Artificial Bait on the Catch of Fish Traps at Telaga Batin Water, Terengganu

“…Fish traps are usually deployed by the artisanal fleet which has less efficient technology and mostly uses passive gears, other than the fish trap itself (Bañón et al, 2018). Fish traps are not only used for marine fishing, but also inland such as a river, lakes, and ponds.…”