Ghost fishing in the pot fishery for blue swimmer crabs Portunus pelagicus in Queensland,Australia

Blue swimmer crabs (Portunus pelagicus) are an economically important crab caught in baited traps throughout the Indo-west Pacific and Mediterranean. In Australia they are traditionally caught using rigid wire traps (≈pots) but there has been a recent increase in the use of collapsible pots constructed from polyethylene trawl mesh. Two experiments were conducted in Moreton Bay, Queensland, to determine the ghost fishing potential of lost crab pots on both target and bycatch species and to evaluate the differences between traditional and contemporary pot designs. A lost contemporary, collapsible trawl mesh pot will catch between 3 and 223 P. pelagicus per year after the bait has been exhausted, while a traditional wire mesh pot would catch 11–74 crabs per year. As most fishers now use the collapsible trawl mesh pots, ghost fishing mortality could be as high as 111,811–670,866 crabs per year. Bycatch retention was also higher in contemporary designs. Periods of strong winds appeared to increase the ghost fishing potential of lost pots. The use of escape gaps, larger mesh sizes and construction options that allow for the deterioration of entrance funnels to minimise ghost fishing are recommended to reduce environmental impacts.     

Use of escape vents to improve size and species selectivity of collapsible pot for blue swimming crab <Emphasis Type="Italic">Portunus pelagicus</Emphasis> in Thailand

Laboratory experiments were firstly conducted to determine the possibility of modification of the collapsible pot for blue swimming crab Portunus pelagicus by designing appropriate escape vents in terms of shape, position, and size to improve size selectivity by reducing the catch of immature crabs. In laboratory observations, nearly square-shaped vents of 35 mm height and 45 mm length, located at the lower part of the side panel, showed the best performance to allow the escape of immature-size crabs by side-crawling escape behavior through the vents, with L _50% selection carapace length (CL) of 39.1, 44.4, and 48.7 mm CL for 40, 45, and 50 mm vent length, respectively. Comparative fishing trials between conventional and vented pots with vents of 35 × 45 mm size were conducted to examine the crab size and species selectivity. Use of the vented pots was found to reduce the number of immature crabs in the catch from 70.5% to 11.0% on average, while not affecting the catch efficiency of mature-size crabs. The vented pots also had a selective effect for reducing the catch of bycatch species in comparative fishing trials.     

Effects of a hook ring on catch and bycatch in a Mediterranean swordfish longline fishery: small addition with potentially large consequences

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Movement of flathead catfish in the Missouri River: examining opportunities for managing river segments for different fishery goals

The dispersal patterns of 2939 flathead catfish, Pylodictis olivaris (Rafinesque), were determined within a 90‐km section of the Missouri River, USA. Fish were captured by electric fishing and tagged in early June each year from 1999 through 2001. Dispersal was determined via angler tag returns between 1999 and 2001 or by subsequent recapture during sampling 1 or 2 years after initial tagging (June 2000 or 2001). Dispersal was localised for the majority of the 370 flathead catfish recaptured in the Missouri River. Over 80% of recaptures were within 5 km of tagging location, and 94% were within 20 km of tagging location. Maximum displacement was 160 km. To examine differences in movement patterns of various sized fish, flathead catfish were placed into one to three size groups (305–380, 381–507, or ≥508 mm). A significant difference (P < 0.001) was detected in dispersal patterns among the three size groups; the largest size group moved greater distances than either of the smaller size groups. Movements average 4.5, 5.6 and 12.6 km for small, medium, and large size classes, respectively. Dispersal movements of flathead catfish in the Missouri River appeared to be localised, suggesting that different sections of the Missouri River could be managed for different fishery goals for flathead catfish to accommodate a variety of angler types and desires.     

Changes in shorebird behaviour and distribution associated with an intertidal crab fishery

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Size at sexual maturity and body size composition of mud crabs <Emphasis Type="Italic">Scylla</Emphasis> spp. caught in Don Sak,Bandon Bay,Gulf of Thailand

Size at sexual maturity and body size composition of mud crabs Scylla spp. were examined as the basis for settling a minimum landing size as a fishing regulation in Don Sak, Bandon Bay, Gulf of Thailand, which has suffered serious mangrove habitat degradation. Mud crabs were caught using baited traps and gill nets. Hooked metal rods were also used to lever the crabs out of their burrows inside the mangroves. Two mud crab species, S. paramamosain and S. olivacea, occur in the bay; S. paramamosain is the dominant species, accounting for 87% of the samples. The size at which 50% of the S. paramamosain females reached maturity (SM₅₀) was estimated as an external carapace width (ECW) of 112.0 mm based on the morphology of the abdomen. Allometric changes in the crushing chelae height to ECW ratio suggested that the SM₅₀ of S. paramamosain males occurred at 106.4 mm ECW. The body size composition revealed that mainly immature mud crabs were exploited in Don Sak. To maintain a sustainable fishery for mud crabs, fishing regulations—including a minimum landing size based on the SM₅₀ estimates—are essential, as is habitat restoration.     

Maximum handling size,prey size and type selection by snakehead (Channa argus) feeding on juvenile Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis)

Laboratory predation trials were conducted to investigate maximum handling size, prey size and type selection by small (35–37 cm in total length, L_T), medium (43–46 cm L_T) and larger (58–60 cm L_T) snakehead (Channa argus) when feeding on a wide size (9–34 mm in carapace width, C_W) range of juvenile Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis). The maximum handling size of predator feeding on crabs monotonically increased with predator L_T and mouth gape width, G_W. Snakehead with at least 16.0 cm L_T or 27.7 mm G_W would be capability to consume the smallest size group of crabs, whereas the predator with 72.6 cm L_T or 63.4 mm G_W would be capability to consume all size groups of crabs in these trails. Prey‐size selection trials showed that snakehead has a high preference to the small‐sized crabs, and lower preference to the medium or large size crabs. The preference index was significantly affected by prey size and prey size × predator size interaction, however, was not affected by predator size. In prey type experiments, snakehead consumed lower proportions of juvenile crabs when fed on the crab and crucian carp than when fed on only the crab, which suggests alternative fish prey may reduce predation risk of the crab by snakehead in nature. These results could be useful for improving the fishery management and release strategies for the crab.     

Can bycatch in a flatfish gillnet fishery be reduced with rectangular mesh?

Gillnets fished in North Carolina, USA, estuaries have high rates of bycatch relative to the target catch of southern flounder, Paralichthys lethostigma Jordan & Gilbert. This study tested whether rectangular‐mesh gillnets would maintain catch rates of southern flounder and reduce fish bycatch relative to conventional diamond‐mesh gillnets in two North Carolina estuaries. In the Neuse River estuary, catch rates of legal southern flounder were not different between the two mesh shapes, but the bycatch of red drum, Sciaenops ocellatus (Linnaeus) and other fish species was reduced with rectangular‐mesh net. In the Newport River estuary, southern flounder and red drum catches were reduced in rectangular‐mesh net, but the decrease was greater for red drum. Catches of sublegal southern flounder were reduced in the rectangular‐mesh net in both estuaries. Reduced catch rates of sublegal southern flounder and bycatch species suggest rectangular mesh may help manage stocks of estuarine fish species in areas where gillnets are used to target flatfishes.     

Effect of baiting gillnets in the Canadian Greenland halibut fishery

Catch rates were compared between gillnets with and without bait in the Greenland halibut Reinhardtius hippoglossoides (Walbaum) fishery off Baffin Island, Canada. Two different types of baiting techniques were compared: bait bags where squid were placed into 2‐mm mesh bags, and tied bait where squid were tied into meshes. Both types of baited gillnets significantly increased the capture of the target species, Greenland halibut, with increases of 253.8% and 149.7% for the bait bag and tied bait, respectively. Common bycatch species showed mixed effects, with roughhead grenadier Macrourus berglax Lacépède showing no increase in catch per unit effort (CPUE) for either bait type (p > 0.05), and porcupine crab Neolithodes grimaldii (Milne‐Edwards and Bouvier) only had a higher CPUE with baited gillnets when bait bags were placed on the footrope. Less common bycatch species—but with threatened populations—showed an increase in CPUE, including Greenland shark Somniosus microcephalus (Bloch and Schneider) and Northern wolffish Anarhichas denticulatus Krøyer. Baiting gillnets affected the CPUE of gillnets in the Greenland halibut fishery, and management should consider how the increased CPUE of both target and bycatch species are affected by this new fishery trend.     

Bycatch mortality can cause extirpation in four freshwater turtle species

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Effects of 17/0 circle hooks and bait on fish catches in a Southern Atlantic swordfish longline fishery

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Ecological risk assessment of elasmobranchs caught in the Gulf of Papua prawn fishery

1. One-third of all elasmobranch species currently known to occur in Papua New Guinea are taken as bycatch in the Gulf of Papua trawl fishery. An ecological risk assessment was conducted on the 16 species of sharks and 23 species of rays caught by the fishery.
2. Eight species were classified to be at low risk, 28 species were at medium risk while three species – Rhynchobatus palpebratus (eyebrow wedgefish), Carcharhinus coatesi (Australian blackspot shark) and Maculabatis astra (blackspotted whipray), all endemic to New Guinea and northern Australia – faced the highest level of risk from the fishery at current fishing levels.
3. There is potential for more vessels to enter the fishery in future, which is likely to elevate the risk for a greater proportion of elasmobranch species. Ongoing monitoring of bycatch levels, supported by biological and ecological studies on frequently caught species, is required to assess and manage risk in the future.
4. The development and use of trawl excluder devices or bycatch reduction devices in this fishery have the potential to reduce bycatch levels and reduce risk levels.

     

Decreasing but still high: bycatch of seabirds in gillnet fisheries along the German Baltic coast

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Broodstock management and the potential to improve the exploitation of mangrove crabs, Scylla serrata (Forskål), through pond fattening in Ranong, Thailand

Abstract Mangrove crabs, Scylla serrata (Forskål), represent one of the main economic resources in the Ranong mangrove ecosystem on the Andaman Sea cost of southern Thailand. However, there is a serious problem of overfishing which has caused fishermen increasingly to sell undersized crabs to meet market demand and maintain their income levels. The crab population and fishing activities were studied to assess the scope for better management of the fishery, especially protection of female broodstock, and the feasibility of using young crabs for aquaculture. Berried crabs examined were always larger than 10·0cm (carapace width), with the great majority of females maturing in the size range 10·0–11·5cm. Gonosomatic index values peak in September, within a main egg carrying and spawning period from July to December. Protecting female crabs from fishing pressure during this season, plus limits on the harvesting of crabs less than 10cm, or using them for fattening in ponds, could lead to better utilization of this resource. Crab farming in Ranong is constrained by climatic factors, the presence of acid-sulphate soils and lack of technical knowledge among the local fishermen. An attempt initially to culture crabs from Ranong under more favourable conditions at Surat Thani showed limited success. Nonetheless, there is a considerable price differential between wild and pond-fattened crabs to encourage further interest in crab farming in Ranong.     

Footprints of fixed-gear fisheries in relation to rising whale entanglements on the U.S. West Coast

On the U.S. West Coast, reports of whales entangled in fishing gear increased dramatically in 2014. In this study, a time series of fishing activity maps was developed from 2009 to 2016 for the four fixed-gear fisheries most commonly implicated in entanglements. Maps were generated using vessel monitoring system (VMS) data linked to port-level landings databases, which were related to entangled whale reports over the same time period and with modelled distributions of humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae Borowski. Over the full study period, neither marked increases in fishing activity nor changes in fisheries footprints within regions with high whale densities were detected. By contrast, a delayed fishery opening in California due to a harmful algal bloom in spring of 2016 led to ~5–7 times average levels of Dungeness crab Metacarcinus magister (Dana) fishing activity, which was consistent with a high rate of entanglement in that year. These results are consistent with current hypotheses that habitat compression caused by a marine heatwave increased the overlap of whales with fishing activity, despite minimal changes in the fisheries themselves. This study adds to literature on bycatch of protected species in otherwise sustainable fisheries, highlighting the value of using VMS data for reducing human–wildlife conflict in the ocean.     

东海近海蟹笼网目尺寸对三疣梭子蟹的选择性

不断壮大的东海近海笼壶渔业对三疣梭子蟹（Portunus trituberculatus）等甲壳类资源造成了巨大的压力,实施养护幼蟹的管理措施已成为渔业管理者和生产者的共同呼声。本研究通过海上对比试验,分析了放大网目尺寸对蟹笼渔获效率的影响,运用SELECT模型估算了蟹笼对三疣梭子蟹的尺寸选择性,结合混合影响模型探讨了作业时间和可捕群体对选择性分析的影响。结果显示,对照蟹笼（网目尺寸32.0 mm）与试验蟹笼（网目尺寸分别为52.3 mm和59.7 mm）的三疣梭子蟹渔获甲宽分布存在显著性差异;SELECT模型拟合结果显示试验蟹笼与对照蟹笼的相对作业强度无显著性差异,网目尺寸分别为52.3 mm和59.7 mm的试验蟹笼对三疣梭子蟹的50%选择甲宽（CW₅₀）分别为86.9 mm和90.9 mm,选择范围分别为15.9 mm和9.2 mm。试验蟹笼的CW₅₀远未达到浙江省等当前的最小可捕尺寸规定,表明蟹笼渔业中仅依靠放大网目尺寸可能难以实现幼蟹的有效释放。结果分析显示,在此次试验中作业时间和可捕群体的数量对蟹笼的选择性没有显著性影响。     

Warm oceans exacerbate Chinook salmon bycatch in the Pacific hake fishery driven by thermal and diel depth-use behaviours

Fisheries bycatch impacts marine species globally and understanding the underlying ecological and behavioural mechanisms could improve bycatch mitigation and forecasts in novel conditions. Oceans are rapidly warming causing shifts in marine species distributions with unknown, but likely, bycatch consequences. We examined whether thermal and diel depth-use behaviours influenced bycatch of a keystone species (Chinook salmon; Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, Salmonidae) in the largest fishery on the US West Coast (Pacific hake; Merluccius productus, Merlucciidae) with annual consequences in a warming ocean. We used Generalized Additive Models with 20 years of data including 54,509 hauls from the at-sea hake fishery spanning Oregon and Washington coasts including genetic information for five salmon populations. Our results demonstrate that Chinook salmon bycatch rates increased in warm ocean years explained by salmon depth-use behaviours. Chinook salmon typically occupy shallower water column depths compared to hake. However, salmon moved deeper when sea surface temperatures (SSTs) were warm and at night, which increased overlap with hake and exacerbated bycatch rates. We show that night fishing reductions (a voluntary bycatch mitigation strategy) are effective in reducing salmon bycatch in cool SSTs by limiting fishing effort when diel vertical movements bring salmon deeper but becomes less effective in warm SSTs as salmon seek deeper thermal refugia during the day. Thermal and diel behaviours were more pronounced in southern compared with northern salmon populations. We provide mechanistic support that climate change may intensify Chinook salmon bycatch in the hake fishery and demonstrate how an inferential approach can inform bycatch management in a changing world.     

Quantifying the effects of bycatch reduction devices in Queensland''s (Australia) shallow water eastern king prawn (Penaeus plebejus) trawl fishery

This study presents results from an experimental 10-day research charter that was designed to quantify the effects of (a) a turtle excluder device (TED), (b) a radial escape section bycatch reduction device (BRD) and (c) both devices together, on bycatch and prawn catch rates in the Queensland shallow water eastern king prawn (Penaeus plebejus) trawl fishery. The bycatch was comprised of 250 taxa, mainly gurnards, whiting, lizard fish, flathead, dragonets, portunid crabs, turretfish and flounders. The observed mean catch rates of bycatch and marketable eastern king prawns from the standard trawl net (i.e., net with no TED or BRD) used during the charter were 11.06 kg/hectare (ha⁻¹) (S.E. 0.90) swept by the trawl gear and 0.94 kg ha⁻¹, respectively. For the range of depths sampled (20.1–90.7 m), bycatch rates declined significantly at a rate of 0.14 kg ha⁻¹ for every 1 m increase in depth, while prawn catch rates were unaffected. When both the TED and radial escape section BRD were used together, the bycatch rate declined by 24% compared to a standard net, but at a 20% reduction in marketable prawn catch rate. The largest reductions were achieved for stout whiting Sillago robusta (57% reduction) and yellowtail scad Trachurus novaezelandiae (32% reduction). Multidimensional scaling and analysis of similarities revealed that bycatch assemblages differed significantly between depths and latitude, but not between the different combinations of bycatch reduction devices. Despite the lowered prawn catch rates, the reduced bycatch rates are promising, particularly for S. robusta, which is targeted in another fishery. Prawn trawl operators are not permitted to retain S. robusta and the devices examined herein offer the potential to significantly reduce the incidental fishing mortality that this species experiences.     

Studies on pathogenicity and prevalence of white spot syndrome virus in mud crab, Scylla serrata (Forskal), in Zhejiang Province, China

Mud crab, Scylla serrata (Forskal), is the most commercially important marine crab species in China. In recent years, serious diseases have occurred in major mud crab culture regions in SE China. PCR detection of white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) in diseased mud crabs collected from Zhejiang Province during 2006–2008 showed a prevalence of 34.82%. To study the pathogenicity of WSSV to mud crab, healthy mud crabs were injected intramuscularly with serial 10‐fold dilutions of a WSSV inoculum. The cumulative mortalities in groups challenged with 10^?1, 10^?2, 10^?3 and 10^?4 dilutions were 100%, 100%, 66.7% and 38.9% at 10 days post‐injection, respectively. All moribund and dead mud crabs except the control group were positive for WSSV by PCR. Based on the viral load of the WSSV inoculum by quantitative real‐time PCR, the median lethal dose (LD50) of WSSV in S. serrata was calculated as 1.10 × 10⁶ virus copies/crab, or 7.34 × 10³ virus copies g^?1 crab weight. The phenoloxidase, peroxidase and superoxide dismutase activities in haemolymph of WSSV‐infected moribund crabs, were significantly lower than the control group, whereas alkaline phosphatase, glutamate‐pyruvate transaminase and glutamic‐oxaloacetic transaminase were higher than in the control group. WSSV was mainly distributed in gills, subcuticular epithelia, heart, intestine and stomach as shown by immunohistochemical analysis with Mabs against WSSV. The epithelial cells of infected gill showed hypertrophied nuclei with basophilic inclusions. Numerous bacilliform virus particles were observed in nuclei of infected gill cells by transmission electron microscopy. It is concluded that WSSV is a major pathogen of mud crab with high pathogenicity.