Journal
ICES JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE
Volume 76, Issue 7, Pages 2481-2488Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.1093/icesjms/fsz119
Keywords
3D reconstruction; catch release; crowding density; multibeam sonar; purse seine volume
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Funding
- Research Council of Norway [243885]
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High fish densities negatively impact catch welfare and the survival of unwanted catches released from purse seines. To avoid overcrowding fish before being released, regulations have been implemented in the Northeast Atlantic mackerel and herring fisheries that limit the proportion of the seine that can be retrieved before catches are released. However, it is yet unknown how seine volume, and thus fish density, relates to proportion of seine retrieved. In this study, we have estimated the in-water volume of purse seines used in the Norwegian mackerel and herring fisheries as a function of proportion seine hauled and seine size. Purse seine geometry was monitored with multibeam sonar at sea and a log-linear mixed effects model was applied to the estimated seine volumes. The results indicate a 33-fold decrease in contained volume from 10 to 80% seine hauled and a threefold difference in volume between the largest and smallest measured seines. Fish densities in the seine were predicted to vary greatly depending on seine and catch size and under some conditions exceed safe crowding levels before the catch release limit is reached. This study questions the rationale of having the same catch release limit for all seine and catch sizes.
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