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| Location | Gear | Catch | Technique | Bycatch species | Type | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aegean coast, Türkiye |
Hooks and Lines
|
Multi-species |
Circle hooks
|
Sea Turtles, Caretta caretta (Loggerhead turtle), Chelonia mydas (Green sea turtle) | Field study in the wild | Paired trials were conducted to compare standard gillnet, trammel nets, and set longlines in Türkiye with several different types of modifications: LED (LP Electralume, 520–530 nm; 18,000–20,000 mcd) and UV-LED devices (LP Electralume, 395–400 nm; 12,000 mcd) and C-type fishing hooks. Compared to control nets, LED and UV-illuminated gillnets and trammel nets reduced the biomass of commercial species catch by 54-75%, and there was no significant reduction in the catch of vulnerable species, including elasmobranchs and sea turtles. Circle hooks reduced commercial catch by 77% compared to standard J-hooks and similarly had a higher proportion of vulnerable species (noting no sea turtles were captured in the control or treatment longline sets). These somewhat unexpected findings may have been influenced by study design limitations (small sample size) or other variables, including high turbidity and larger gear mesh sizes. Additional research is planned. No reduction in catch of vulnerable species; sea turtles were not encountered in either control or treatment sets |
Conception Bay, Canada |
Pots
|
Snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) |
Excluder devices
|
Crustaceans, Chionoecetes opilio (Snow crab) | Field study in the wild | Four experimental snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) conical pots with non-selective, small mesh jackets and collars of 180 mm, 240 mm, 300 mm, and 180 mm with a 51 mm lip, were compared with small mesh pots with no collar and traditional pots with traditional mesh in Conception Bay, Canada. Smaller collars did not improve catch efficiency (but did not significantly reduce target catch), and caught large amounts of sub-legal and female crabs. Additionally, larger collars substantially reduced catch of target-sized crabs (although sub-legal catch was also reduced). Future work will integrate escape gaps to assist escapement. External plastic collars did not meaningfully improve size selectivity |