Summary
This paper presents a review of studies on gear technologies used to improve species and size selection in Nephrops trawl fisheries in the North Sea, Irish Sea, Kattegat and Skaggerak. The following categories of gear modifications were analyzed: separator grids, separator/guiding panels, square-mesh panels, capture avoidance designs, and codend modifications. The best gear design depends on the management objectives of the fishery. Square mesh panels, combined with guiding panels, proved most beneficial in retaining marketable bycatch, while reducing discards and maintaining target catch levels. Grid systems should be used if managers want to reduce all bycatch and have a single species fishery.