Preliminary evaluation of landings and discards of the Turkish bottom trawl fishery in the northeastern Aegean Sea (eastern Mediterranean)

Abstract

Summary: This short-term study on commercial discards was carried out in fishing grounds around Gökçeada Island in the northeastern Aegean Sea, a geographic area where fisheries information is rather limited. A total of 28 bottom trawls were performed between 70 and 410 m depth from December 2009 to February 2010. All the samples were collected on board a commercial trawler under commercial fishing conditions. A total of 3143 kg of biomass was caught in 28 valid hauls. Landings accounted for about 67% of the total catch while the remaining 33% was discarded. Fish species comprised 85% of the total catch and their composition could be divided into four main groups related to depth: shallow shelf (70 to 88 m), deep shelf (155 to 180 m), shelf break (196 to 276 m), and upper slope (307 to 410 m). Fish dominated the abundance and biomass of both landings and discards in all bathymetric strata. Echinoderms also accounted for a large proportion of the discards. Mean total catches varied between 78.4 kg/h on the shallow shelf and 38.1 kg/h on the shelf break with no differences in the landing biomass between groups, but with slightly higher discards over the shallow shelf. Taking into account the preliminary nature of the findings, based on a short-term analysis, the minimum mesh size and minimum landing size currently applied in the Turkish bottom trawl fishery are not sufficient to reduce discards and to protect juveniles of commercially important species in the northeastern Aegean Sea.Keywords: bottom trawl; catch composition; landings; discards; length-frequency; eastern Mediterranean. Evaluación preliminar de los desembarques y descartes de la pesquería de arrastre de fondo de Turquía en el mar Egeo nororiental (Mediterráneo oriental)Resumen: Este estudio a corto plazo sobre los descartes de la flota comercial de arrastre se llevó a cabo en las zonas de pesca alrededor de la isla Gökçeada en el noreste del mar Egeo, una zona geográfica en la que la información sobre las pesquerías es bastante limitada. Se realizaron un total de 28 pescas de arrastre de fondo entre 70 y 410 m de profundidad de diciembre 2009 a febrero de 2010. Todas las muestras se recogieron a bordo de un embarcación de pesca de arrastre siguiendo las mismas condiciones de pesca comercial. Se capturaron un total de 3143 kg de biomasa en 28 lances válidos. Los desembarques comerciales representaron alrededor del 67% de la captura total, mientras que el resto (33%) se descartó. El 85% de la captura total estuvo compuesta por especies de peces. La composición específica se pudo separar en cuatro grupos principales relacionados con la profundidad : la plataforma poco profunda (70 a 88 m), la plataforma profunda (155-180 m), el borde inferior de la plataforma (196 a 276 m) y el talud superior (307-410 m). Los peces dominaron la abundancia y biomasa tanto de los desembarques comerciales como de los descartes en todos los estratos batimétricos. Además los equinodermos también fueron un grupo importante de los descartes. La media de las capturas totales v...

Modelling gear and fishers size selection for escapees, discards, and landings: a case study in Mediterranean trawl fisheries

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