Fishing for Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) with pots and gillnets: A catch comparison study along the southeast coast of Labrador

Gillnets are the primary fishing gear used to catch Atlantic cod(Gadus morhua)in coastal areas of Newfoundland and Labrador but are known to catch non-target species and produce lower quality fish than live-catch methods.The purpose of this study was to compare the catch efficiency of collapsible cod pots against gillnets near the Gilbert Bay Marine Protected Area(MPA),Labrador,where a reduction in by-catch is needed.Results showed that one cod pot caught half as much Atlantic cod as a gillnet,and pots had a relatively stable catch rate throughout the sampling period,whereas gillnets caught relatively few fish later in the sampling season.Moreover,nearly all fish sampled with pots were caught alive undamaged,whereas most gillnet-caught fish experienced damage or mortality.As a conservation measure pot-fishing would enable fishing within close proximity to the Gilbert Bay MPA and the live-release of visually distinguishable Gilbert Bay cod,thereby mitigating against the negative effects of commercial fishing on this protected Atlantic cod population.

Utility of gillnets for selectively targeting penaeids off Iran

In response to concerns over the mortality of discards and other negative environmental impacts of otter trawling for penaeids,the utility of bottom-set gillnets deployed by artisanal vessels to target Penaeus monodon,Metapenaeus affinis and other retained species by-product was assessed in the Sea of Oman.Two gillnets(each comprising several 80-m panels for total lengths of up to 1.3 km)were diurnally fished at two locations(off Beris and Govater,eastern Iran)within established penaeid fishing grounds.During 30 days,the total catch was 2721 kg,comprising penaeids(981 kg),eight retained by-product species(598 kg and mostly Otolithes ruber,Cynoglossus bilinearus and Carangoides talamparoides)and 19 discarded species(1142 kg).The catch-per-unit-of-effort(CPUE,kg/gillnet-panel⋅hour-fished)of targeted penaeids and by-product varied significantly between areas(0.5-1.0 kg),but nevertheless reached economically viable levels.The CPUEs of total bycatch were similar at both sites(<0.5 kg)and no marine turtles were caught.The concomitant ratios of retained-catches-to-bycatch were considerably less than those for regional penaeid-trawl fisheries.Nevertheless,while gillnet selectivity was satisfactory for M.affinis,most of the P.monodon were smaller than their carapace length at maturity at both fished sites.The results support using gillnets to target penaeids and by-product species as an alternative to otter trawling in the Sea of Oman;albeit with ongoing assessments of modifications to maximise selectivity.

A new algorithm for estimating gillnet selectivity

The estimation of gear selectivity is a critical issue in fishery stock assessment and management.Several methods have been developed for estimating gillnet selectivity,but they all have their limitations,such as inappropriate objective function in data fitting,lack of unique estimates due to the difficulty in finding global minima in minimization,biased estimates due to outliers,and estimations of selectivity being influenced by the predetermined selectivity functions.In this study,we develop a new algorithm that can overcome the above-mentioned problems in estimating the gillnet selectivity.The proposed algorithms include minimizing the sum of squared vertical distances between two adjacent points and minimizing the weighted sum of squared vertical distances between two adjacent points in the presence of outliers.According to the estimated gillnet selectivity curve,the selectivity function can also be determined.This study suggests that the proposed algorithm is not sensitive to outliers in selectivity data and improves on the previous methods in estimating gillnet selectivity and relative population density of fish when a gillnet is used as a sampling tool.We suggest the proposed approach be used in estimating gillnet selectivity.

Gillnet Selectivity and Length at Maturity of Nile Tilapia （Oreochromis niloticus L.） in a Tropical Reservoir （Amerti： Ethiopia）

The selectivity of gillnets for Oreochromis niloticus in Amerti reservoir （9°63′ N, 37°23′ E） was determined from gillnets with four mesh sizes （60, 80, 100 and 120 mm）. Four selectivity models （a normal model assuming fixed spread, a normal model assuming that spread is proportional to mesh size, a lognormal model and a gamma model） were fitted to the data by using the share each length＇s catch total （SELECT） method. A total of 657 specimens of Oreochromis niloticus were caught （12.0-35.5 cm total length, TD. The sizes at first sexual maturity were 21.5 cm TL and 18.9 cm TL, respectively, for male and female Oreochromis niloticus. The lognormal selectivity curve provided the best fit to the data according to model deviance estimates with optimum selectivity of 16.66, 22.26, 27.78 and 33.38 cm TL for the 60, 80, 100 and 120 mm mesh sizes, respectively.

A review on fishing gear in China: Selectivity and application

In the 1980s,China’s offshore marine fishery resources declined,thus fishing gear selectivity gradually became a focus of scientific fishery research.Studies of fishing gear selectivity mainly focus on five kinds of fishing gear:trawls,shrimp beam trawls,stow nets,gillnets,and pots.Cover net method is the main method used in the comparative study of codend selectivity of both trawls and stow nets.These results showed that(1)Bottom trawls,targeting Larimichthys polyactis(the Little yellow croaker)and Trichiurus haumela(the Hairtail),should have a minimum mesh size of the codend no less than 60 mm in the Yellow and East China Seas.While the codend should use a square mesh with a minimum mesh size of 40 mm due to the variety of targeted species in the South China Sea.(2)Pair pelagic trawls,targeting pelagic species such as Engraulis japonicus(the Japanese anchovy),Pampus argenteus(the Silvery pomfret),Scomberomorus niphonius(the Spanish mackerel),as well as bottom species such as L.polyactis and T.haumela,should have a minimum mesh size of the codend no less than 56 mm in the Yellow Sea.(3)Shrimp beam trawls should use shrimp/fish separator devices(e.g.,separator panels,vertical separator panels,and sorting grids)to improve intra-species selectivity and reduce by-catch of non-target fish.(4)Canvas stow nets,targeting L.polyactis and T.haumela,should have a minimum mesh size of the codend no less than 55 mm.(5)Gillnets,the minimum mesh size should be determined for catching traditional economic species,but also the optimal mesh size for newly developed species.Such as,gillnets with mesh size of 35-38.71 mm targeting Harpodon nehereus(the Bombay duck),55 mm targeting L.polyactis and Nemipterus virgatus(the Golden threadfin bream),72 mm targeting Dentex tumifrons(the yellow sea breams)or Scomberomorus commersoni with body length of 280 mm,100 mm targeting P.argenteus,104 mm or 146 mm targeting 2-3 year or 6-7 year S.niphonius,120 mm targeting S.commersoni with body length of 380 mm,and 144 mm targeting Pampus chinensis(the Chinese pomfret).(6)Pots,the steel-framed round pots targeting Portunus trituberculatus(the swimming crab)should have a 33 mm height of escape vent or an 8 cm diameter escape hole,and the steel-framed round pots or accordion-shaped trap targeting Charybdis japonica(the Asian paddle crabs)should have a 30 mm height of escape vent installed on the side of pots.These results of fishing gear selectivity from the scientific basis for the implementation of fishing gear access systems,especially for identifying the minimum mesh size of fishing gear.In the future,the Fisheries Research Institute of China should conduct long-term investigations of selectivity in trans areas.Developing fishing gear access systems that are in line with a sustainable development is of great significance for the conservation and restoration of offshore fishery resources in China.