Testing of Pacific Halibut Bycatch Reduction Devices in Two US West Coast Bottom Trawl Fisheries
Mark J.M. Lomeli and W. Waldo Wakefield
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Description
The US West Coast limited entry (LE) groundfish trawl fishery is managed under an Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) program that establishes annual catch limits and IFQs for over 60 groundfish species, and individual bycatch quotas (IBQs) for Pacific halibut, a prohibited species. For many fishermen participating in the bottom trawl components of this fishery, bycatch of Pacific halibut can be a concern because limited IBQ is available. Individual fishermen could reach their Pacific halibut IBQ before reaching their catch share quota of other stocks, thereby ending their fishing season or forcing them to purchase limited and potentially expensive quota. In separate studies, we examined two industry-designed Pacific halibut flexible sorting grid bycatch reduction devices (BRDs): one developed for the Dover sole–thornyhead–sablefish (DTS) complex fishery, and a second developed for the nearshore flatfish fishery. For both BRDs, we used a recapture net to quantify fish escapement and retention (by weight). For the BRD tested in the DTS fishery, retention of marketable-sized Dover sole, shortspine thornyheads, and sablefish was 99.0%, 96.9%, and 90.0% respectively. Pacific halibut bycatch was reduced by 83.7%. In the nearshore flatfish fishery, the BRD examined retained 85.1% of marketable-sized flatfishes encountered. Retention was highest for petrale sole (93.3%), and Dover sole (89.4%). Bycatch of Pacific halibut was reduced by 93.7%, while catches of rockfishes and roundfishes were reduced by 72.1% and 96.5%, respectively.Results demonstrated the capability of flexible sorting grids to modify trawl selectivity in two US West Coast LE groundfish bottom trawl fisheries while maintaining relatively high catch levels for several target species.
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Item details
- Item number: AK-SG-15-01a
- Year: 2015
- Pages: 23
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.4027/fbgics.2015.01
