Survival of by-catch from a beam trawl

Abstract

Starfishes, hermit crabs and molluscs were highly resistent to the effects of capture by a 4 m beam trawl (>60% survived in all cases). Fishes (except dogfish), sea urchins and swimming crabs suffered higher mortality after capture. Generally, the majority of the animals that passed through the meshes of the cod end survived. The chain matrix fitted to the gear was largely responsible for the injuries sustained. The types of injuries and their extent were species-specific, and were related to the fragility and physical characteristics of each species. -from Authors