The effects of trawl configuration on the size and composition of catches using benthic prawn trawls off the coast of New South Wales, Australia
- 1 August 1991
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in ICES Journal of Marine Science
- Vol. 48 (2) , 201-209
- https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/48.2.201
Abstract
The catch per swept area and size selectivities of several configurations of prawn trawls were assessed during night-time trials. Catches using triple rigged prawn trawls were compared to single trawls with and without sweeps of 40 and 140 m length in a nested sampling design. Sweeps were found to herd Australian red spot whiting and sand flathead but not prawns and shovelnose lobsters. Single trawls with long sweeps caught significantly larger red spot whiting and sand flathead than any other trawl configuration. Triple gear caught more smaller red spot whiting than other configurations but this effect was not evident for sand flathead. The results are discussed in terms of the likely behaviour of the herded species and implications for the management of fisheries for prawns and herded species of finfish.Keywords
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