Authors:
Brewer, D., Heales, D., Milton, D., Dell, Q., Fry, G., Venables, B., Jones, P.
Year:
2006
Journal/Publisher Name:
Fisheries Research
Volume (Issue #):
81
Page #s:
176-188
Contact information:
+61 7 3826 7200
David.Brewer@csiro.au
Summary:
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 TED's reduced sea turtle bycatch by 99% and 100% respectively and large sponges by 81.6% and 95.9% respectively. Catches of tiger prawns were reduced by 6.3% with the use of TED's. The BRD's had little impact on the catch of either the target or bycatch species.
Field Studies
| Location | Fishing Gear | Reduction Technique | Bycatch Species | Effect on Bycatch Species | Catch | Effect on Target Catch | Type | Link to edit content |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Australia | Trawls | Excluder devices | Sea Turtles | Upward facing TED's reduced sea turtle bycatch by 99% | Prawns | Reduced the proportion of soft and damaged prawns by 35.8% and reduced catches of tiger prawns by 6.3% | Field study in the wild | |
| Northern Australia | Trawls | Excluder devices | Elasmobranchs, Invertebrates, Sea Turtles | Little effect | Prawns | Little effect | Field study in the wild | |
| Northern Australia | Trawls | Excluder devices | Invertebrates | Downward facing TEDs reduced large sponge catches by 95.9% | Prawns | Reduced the proportion of soft and damaged prawns by 63.2% and reduced catches of tiger prawns by 6.3% | Field study in the wild | |
| Northern Australia | Trawls | Excluder devices | Invertebrates | Upward facing TED's reduced large sponge catches by 81.6% | Prawns | Reduced the proportion of soft and damaged prawns by 35.8% and reduced catches of tiger prawns by 6.3% | Field study in the wild | |
| Northern Australia | Trawls | Excluder devices | Skates/Rays | Reduced ray catches by 17.7% | Prawns | Reduced the proportion of soft and damaged prawns by 41.6% and reduced catches of tiger prawns by 6.5% | Field study in the wild | |
| Northern Australia | Trawls | Excluder devices | Sharks | Reduced shark catches by 36.3% | Prawns | Reduced the proportion of soft and damaged prawns by 41.6% and reduced catches of tiger prawns by 6.5% | Field study in the wild | |
| Northern Australia | Trawls | Excluder devices | Sea Turtles | Downward facing TEDs reduced sea turtle catches by 100% | Prawns | Reduced the proportion of soft and damaged prawns by 63.2% and reduced catches of tiger prawns by 6.3% | Field study in the wild | |
| Northern Australia | Trawls | Excluder devices | Sea Turtles | Reduced sea turtle catches by 100% | Prawns | Reduced the proportion of soft and damaged prawns by 41.6% and reduced catches of tiger prawns by 6.5% | Field study in the wild | |
| Northern Australia | Trawls | Excluder devices | Invertebrates | Reduced large sponge catches by 85.3% | Prawns | Reduced the proportion of soft and damaged prawns by 41.6% and reduced catches of tiger prawns by 6.5% | Field study in the wild |