In an attempt to improve the selectivity and engineering performances of generic penaeid trawls, three established and one novel spreading-mechanism configurations were assessed: otter boards attached (1) with and (2) without 3.15-m sweeps to a 7.35-m headline trawl, and a beam rigged directly to a 9.19-m trawl (3) with and (4) without a horizontal wire and plastic streamers. Despite more surface area (7.5 vs 6.0 m2), both beam-trawl configurations had significantly lower drag than the otter trawls (≤30%). When catches were standardised to per ha, the otter trawl with sweeps retained significantly more (1.3-2.4 times) school prawns, Metapenaeus macleayi (Haswell), than the other three configurations. Within systems, removing sweeps or adding a horizontal wire significantly reduced the unwanted catches of a key teleost (southern herring, Herklotsichthys castelnaui Ogilby) by 41 and 48%. The results illustrate the utility of simple anterior modifications for independently addressing penaeid-trawling environmental issues. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
CITATION STYLE
Mchugh, M. J., Broadhurst, M. K., Sterling, D. J., & Millar, R. B. (2014). Comparing and modifying penaeid beam and otter trawls to improve ecological efficiencies. Fisheries Management and Ecology, 21(4), 299–311. https://doi.org/10.1111/fme.12079
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