Composition, structure and possible prospects for the use of bycatch on the trawl fishing of the atka mackerel Pleurogrammus monopterygius (Hexagrammidae)

Abstract

The species composition and size of bycatch of various hydrobionts in a specialized bottom trawl fishery for the atka mackerel Pleurogrammus monopterygius off the coast of Kamchatka and the Kuril Islands in the spring of 2016–2020 are considered. The catches included 77 species of fishlike and fish, as well as 9 species of commercial invertebrates. At the same time, their number varies according to fishing areas and depths, and the proportion by mass may exceed that of the main object. Among bycatch species, in addition to those whose fishing is carried out at the present time, high catches are typical for gray rockfish Sebastes glaucus, rock greenling Hexagrammos lagocephalus, great sculpin Myoxocephalus polyacanthocephalus, armorhead sculpin Gymnocanthus galeatus, as well as yellow Irish lord Hemilepidotus jordani and banded Irish lord H. gilberti. In this regard, it is believed that their catch has high potential on the specialized fishery of the atka mackerel.