Summary
Guarding nets may potentially help mitigate bycatch in trammel net fisheries through the attachment of a supplementary netting panel, typically 10–30 cm high and made of materials that resist entanglement, between the footrope and the main trammel net. Acting as a physical barrier, the panel prevents benthic organisms from becoming trapped. In a small-scale prawn trammel net fishery in Thailand, biomass of non-target organisms was significantly reduced while maintaining target species volume compared with conventional nets. However, the volume of commercial bycatch species was also significantly reduced, which may create a barrier to adoption in small-scale fisheries.