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- Title
Finfish Catch Reduction in South Atlantic Shrimp Trawls Using Three Designs of By-catch Reduction Devices.
- Authors
Rulifson, Roger A.; Murray, James D.; Bahen, James J.
- Abstract
Standard shrimp trawls used in the southeastern U.S. commercial fishery were modified in an attempt to reduce the amount of unwanted fish (by-catch) retained during normal shrimp trawling procedures. A sampling design was used to test the effectiveness of by-catch reduction devices (BRDs) towed in combination with unmodified nets in coastal waters off Brunswick, Georgia, in 1990. Several problems hampered statistical analysis of the data, including slight differences in the towing of port and starboard nets, onboard modification of BRDs during testing to correct design deficiencies, and seasonality of shrimp catches in combination with large masses of sargassum and jellyfish in trawls during fall sampling. The modified Parrish turtle excluder device (TED) was the only BRD that had a significant reduction (alpha = 0.05) in the percent difference in total biomass compared to the control net. By-catch reduction was not consistent for other designs. No significant loss of marketable-sized fish was observed among the BRD designs compared to control catches. The ability of smallest juvenile fish to escape from BRDs, thus shifting (increasing) the length-frequency distribution, was species specific. The normal Parrish TED was best suited for escapement of smallest menhaden, while the diamond-mesh BRD with hoops best minimized capture of the smallest Atlantic bumper, grey trout, and Atlantic croaker. The square-mesh net was most effective in reducing retention of smallest-sized thread herring, and the modified Parrish TED retained less of the smallest-sized spot. The objective of 50% by-catch reduction with a shrimp loss of less than 5% was not consistently reached; however, BRDs show promise for by-catch reduction in South Atlantic coastal waters.
- Publication
Fisheries, 1992, Vol 17, Issue 1, p9
- ISSN
0363-2415
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1577/1548-8446(1992)017<0009:FCRISA>2.0.CO;2