Inferring fish behaviour at the trawl mouth from escape location.

In this study, we used escape location underneath the trawl to understand groundfish herding behaviour at the trawl mouth. Three collecting bags (port, center, starboard) were mounted under the trawl and behind the footgear to collect escapees. The escape-at-length of species that escaped into the center bag were compared to the two wing bags to infer fish response behaviour, herding behaviour, and swimming capacity at the trawl mouth.

Catches in abandoned snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) pots in the Barents Sea.

During a 2018 retrieval cruise for abandoned snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) pots in the Barents Sea, approximately 8600 pots abandoned 1.5 years earlier were recovered. Forty-three percent of a subsample of 1000 pots contained snow crabs, with an average of three crabs per pot.

Sequential codend improves quality of trawl-caught cod.

Trawl-caught fish are frequently associated with deteriorated catch quality. This study presents a new dual sequential codend concept with the aim of improving the quality of trawl-caught fish by minimizing the frequency and severity of catch damage. During towing, the fish are retained in an anterior codend segment with the legislated mesh size.