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| Location | Gear | Catch | Technique | Bycatch species | Type | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Northern Australia |
Trawls
|
Prawns |
Excluder devices
|
Elasmobranchs, Sharks, Carcharhinus dussumieri (Whitecheek shark), Carcharhinus tilstoni (Australian blacktip shark), Skates/Rays, Anoxypristis cuspidata (Narrow sawfish), Gymnura australis (Australian butterfly ray), Himantura toshi (Brown whipray), Rhynchobatus djiddensis (Giant guitarfish) | Field study in the wild | The catches from five experimental trawls (TED + fisheye BRD, upward facing TED, downward facing TED, bigeye BRD and square-mesh panel BRD) were compared to those of the standard twin Florida Flyer prawn trawl. Nets with a combination of a TED and BRD reduced sea turtle catches by 100%, large sponges by 85.3%, sharks by 36.3% and rays by 17.7% and reduced the proportion of soft and damaged prawns by 41.6% and catches of tiger prawns by 6.5%. Upward and downward facing TEDs reduced sea turtle bycatch by 99% and 100% respectively and large sponges by 81.6% and 95.9% respectively. Catches of tiger prawns (P. semisulcatus and P. esculentus) were reduced by 6.3% with the use of TEDs. The BRDs had little impact on the catch of either target or bycatch species. Significantly fewer sharks caught using TED+BRD, TED, BRD only; significant reduction in rays in TED+BRD and TED only compared with control; significant reduction in sawfish catch in nets with a TED. Less reduction in bycatch for small sharks and rays. |