The use of fyke nets as a quantitative capture technique for freshwater eels (Anguilla spp.) in rivers

Abstract  Fyke netting is a convenient and effective technique for capturing freshwater eels, and catch-per-unit-effort is usually assumed to be an index of eel abundance. The present study investigated the potential of depletion fishing using baited fyke nets to obtain population estimates of longfin eels Anguilla dieffenbachii Gray, in a river in the South Island of New Zealand. The probability of capture (capture efficiency) of a single night's fishing increased with increasing size of eel, and ranged from 0.2 to 0.9 for eels <400 mm, to 0.7–0.9 for eels ≥500 mm. The capture efficiency of baited vs unbaited nets was assessed in a small stream that was electric fished after netting trials were completed. Baited nets proved to be an effective method of assessing abundance of longfin eels (>400 mm) but not shortfins ( A. australis Richardson); capture efficiency of the population of longfins (the sum of fyke caught and electric fished eels) was 0.4 for a single night's fyke netting, increasing to 0.8 over four nights. Comparable efficiencies for shortfins were <0.1 and 0.3 respectively. Unbaited nets were markedly less efficient for both species.     

Monitoring warm-water fish populations in north temperate regions: sampling considerations when using proportional stock density

Three lakes were repeatedly sampled at night using boat electric fishing, experimental gill netting, and fyke netting from May to November 1993 to evaluate the feasibility of using proportional stock density (PSD) to monitor warm-water fish populations in Washington State, USA. Additionally, average night-time boat electric fishing catch-per-effort of largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides (Lacepéde), from 30 Washington lakes was also analysed to determine the amount of effort required to obtain adequate samples for precise PSD estimates. Temporal variations in PSD were not large enough to affect the management of warm-water fish populations in the small Washington lakes studied. However, the considerable effort required to obtain precise PSD estimates may limit its usefulness for warm-water fisheries surveys in the Pacific Northwest. On average, from three to 13 nights of electric fishing effort are needed to capture enough stock-length largemouth bass for PSD estimates, depending on the precision desired (80–95%) and the location of the lake (eastern or western Washington). Catch of stock-length fish can be maximized by using electric fishing for centrarchids and gill netting for yellow perch, Perca flavescens (Mitchill), in June or September. Adequate samples for precise PSD estimates can be difficult to obtain from Pacific Northwestern lakes, even when using recommended gear at optimum sampling times. Inability to capture an adequate sample size for precise PSD estimates may be responsible for some of the fluctuation in PSDs in some studies of warm-water fish populations in northern areas. Managers in other northern climates may find that low sample size may account for large variations in PSDs reported.     

Littoral spawning habitats of three southern Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus L.) populations

Abstract Arctic charr populations in southern latitudes are nonmigratory, with all life‐stages limited to freshwater lakes and in‐ or out‐flowing tributaries. Although many of these populations are reported to also spawn in lake littorals, little is known about the physical characteristics of putative spawning grounds. A total of 23 discrete spawning sites within three Irish lakes were located by fyke netting of spawning adults and snorkelling in littoral habitats. Spawning sites were found to be long, narrow strips running parallel to the shore at a maximum depth of 124 cm. Spawning sites were limited to areas of coarse mineral substrate with an adequate (c. 8 cm) depth of clean interstitial spaces. In individual lakes, combined areas of spawning sites made up 0.4–0.7% of available littoral. Egg densities varied considerably between sites (33–900·eggs m^?2) and were significantly correlated with gradient and width of spawning sites. No evidence of redd digging was found. The shallow, localised and restricted nature of spawning grounds makes such populations vulnerable to anthropogenically induced postoviposition changes in surface water level, eutrophication processes such as increased lake sedimentation and elevated nutrient status.     

Otter guards in river fyke-net fisheries: effects on catches of eels and salmonids

The effects of otter guards on the fishing efficiency of eel fyke-nets were investigated in two Danish rivers. The otter guards were made of 75-mm mesh netting and were placed across the fyke entrance. The fishing efficiency was measured as catch-per-unit effort and hauling time. Guard nets were mounted in half the fyke-nets, while the other half served as controls. After every haul, the fyke-nets with guard nets were returned to controls and vice versa . For legal-sized eels and salmonids, the guard-net significantly ( P < 0.05) reduced the catches, causing a 30% reduction of the eel catch and a 53–55% reduction of the salmonid catch. The use of otter guards significantly increased the hauling time. The average time used for hauling a guarded fyke-net was increased by 15–25% for both upstream- and downstream-oriented fyke-nets, respectively. Blockages caused by water-borne debris appear to be the main cause of problems. Anguilla anguilla , by-catch, eel, fyke-net, otter guards, salmonid.     

A Comparison of Three Methods of Pike (Esox lucius L.) Removal from a Lowland Trout Fishery

The seine netting, gill netting and angling techniques used at Grafham Water for the removal of pike are described and assessed, and the effectiveness of the various methods compared. It was found that a combination of summer gill netting and seine netting was most effective, but it was concluded that angling was worthwhile during the autumn months.     

Catching invasive Chinese mitten crabs while releasing the endangered European eel and other fish by‐catch: The implications of fyke net design

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桁拖网作业中鱼虾分隔效果的试验研究

试验重点在于比较菱形网目与方形网目的鱼虾分隔效果。试验分别采用菱形100mm、菱形120mm、方形100mm和方形120mm四种分隔网片方案,试验证明。菱形120mm分隔网片分隔效果最好,其分隔率为59-69％,两种方形网目的分隔效果则不甚理想。本文同时对桁拖网渔具结构提出意见,并且建议对桁拖网也要实行禁渔期政策。     

Effects of irrigation pumps on riverine fish

Abstract  The total number and condition of fish extracted via high and low flow irrigation pumps was assessed over a 2-year period in the Namoi River, Australia. A combination of boat electric fishing and fyke netting was used for 10 weeks during the peak irrigation period to determine species and size classes susceptible to entrainment during water abstraction. Over 2300 fish passed through the pump outlets over the study period, with many individuals (7.5% of total) both killed and injured. The maximum number of fish entrained in a single day was 232. Mortality was significantly higher from the high volume pump site, but only large (>200 mm long) or small (<50 mm long) fish were killed. Medium-sized fish (50–200 mm long) largely survived the abstraction process; although 70 were injured (3% of total), only one was killed (0.07%). The Electric fishing surveys showed that only four species were present in storage dams, suggesting that survival through the pump systems may be size and species specific. Fish that survived the water abstraction process had no opportunities to return to the main river system and were effectively classified as lost from the main river population. The development of suitable mitigation measures, including operational changes and screening, are suggested as mechanisms to prevent extraction and minimise any adverse impacts arising from irrigation development.     

聚乙烯编织线替代普通聚乙烯捻线对拖网性能的影响

聚乙烯编织网线比普通聚乙烯捻线强度高,用编织线来替代目前的普通捻线,可降低拖网渔具的阻力从而达到节能降耗的目的。本文通过实际取样测试,比较了两种网线的拉伸性能,在不降低原拖网渔具的单线结强力的前提下,用聚乙烯编织线代替原普通捻线,并通过模型试验研究其对拖网渔具性能的影响和节能效果。结果表明:单线结强力相同的两种网线,编织线的直径可比普通网线的直径下降15.17%以上。本试验编织线拖网的平均网线直径比原普通捻线拖网下降16.00%,网具阻力面积(线面积)从304.57 m2下降到256.47 m2,下降了15.79%。同等试验条件下,编织线拖网的阻力比普通捻线拖网下降17.25%左右,而网口高度的变化则不明显。能耗系数的计算结果为编织线拖网过滤同体积的水体所消耗的能量比普通捻线拖网下降16.67%。功率消耗的分析表明,消耗同样的功率,440 kW的双拖渔船使用编织线拖网,拖速可比普通捻线拖网提高8.33%,如采用和普通捻线拖网同样的拖速作业,则去掉起、放网所消耗的时间,以一天正常拖网作业18 h计算,可节约燃油77 L左右。     

A breath of fresh air: avoiding anoxia and mortality of freshwater turtles in fyke nets by the use of floats

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大潮差下浅海养殖围网防纠缠技术试验研究

大潮差海况条件会对养殖围网设施敷设产生较大影响,会发生网衣堆积严重、易纠缠、贴底网衣离底、网衣撕裂等生产安全事故,因此,网衣防纠缠技术研究非常重要。研究制作了小尺寸围网模型,采用装配横纲、沉力纲、浮力纲的方法设计3种不同的围网网衣沉降和升浮技术方案,进行模拟涨潮、落潮的网衣堆积试验研究。选取网衣堆积较明显的水位(水位分别降低30~60 cm)进行分析。结果显示:水位降低30 cm时,方案C,即采用浮沉力纵向向下递增分布的方法,网衣堆积高度最大,堆积系数最小;当水位降低分别为40 cm、50 cm、60 cm时,也得出同样的结果。研究表明:网衣堆积高度越大,堆积系数越小,网衣能够在更多层面堆积,发生纠缠的可能性越小。实际应用效果证明方案C适合在大潮差海域应用。     

Harbour swimming nets: a novel habitat for seahorses

• 1. Artificial structures are becoming increasingly important in conserving biodiversity in urban ecosystems, by providing habitat for endangered or rare species. Their role in providing habitat for such species has, however, been largely unexplored.
• 2. In Sydney Harbour, Australia, seahorses were observed among the netting used to keep sharks out of swimming enclosures. Over a 2‐year period, the relative densities of two species of seahorses observed on netting was measured at swimming enclosures with permanent netting and at swimming areas that were only enclosed with netting during the summer months.
• 3. The rate of colonization by seahorses to new netting was also examined over a period of 10 months.
• 4. Numbers of seahorses on permanent swimming enclosures were 10 to 100 times greater than numbers present on swimming enclosures that were only set up during the summer months.
• 5. This large difference may have been attributed to the slow rate of colonization of seahorses to new habitat. Seahorses were not observed at experimental nets that were deployed in two areas in the harbour until at least 4 months after the netting was deployed.
• 6. Swimming pool nets are a habitat for species of seahorses in Sydney Harbour and, consequently, the removal or disturbance of swimming nets may impact the survival of these fish. Management of these artificial habitats may therefore best be focused on providing a permanent habitat that may help to compensate for the loss of netting during winter months.

Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Experimental study on the effect of waves on netting panels at a range of angles to the wave direction

The effect of horizontal waves on flexible netting panels placed at angles to the wave direction is studied with the aim of evaluating the testing method of pre-tensioned mooring and radial systems and flexible netting structures. The netting was hung on a frame at a specific hanging ratio for ten types of polyethylene panels. Regular waves were experimentally generated with a wave period varying from 0.8 to 2.0 s and wave height ranging from 50 to 250 mm. The force on the netting structure was recorded by a tension transducer and a digital signal recorder. The results showed that the horizontal wave force on the netting panel changed periodically and asymmetrically when it was back and left or right declinate to the wave direction; similar results were found for the surface wave elevation. The opposite results were obtained when the sloping angle declinated front to the wave direction, with two obvious crests during each period. The horizontal wave force was related to the height and width of the netting panel, wave height, wave length, twine diameter, bar length of the mesh, and sloping angle relative to the wave direction. Using dual series relations, the least square approximation, and multiple stepwise regression analysis, the formula for estimating the maximum value of the wave force on the netting was obtained.     

机织单死结锦纶网片不同定型方向的断裂强力比较

本研究以国家有关测试标准为依据，采用裂区模型实验设计方法，对多种系列机织单死结锦纶网片试样进行测定，数据采用多元方差分析方法，分析了网片纵横向之 断裂强力和断裂伸长率的差异性，找出了影响网片断裂强力和断裂伸长率的主要因素，分析了各主要因素影响的程度和趋势。研究结果表明，机织单死结网片采用横向定型时，其断裂强力和断裂伸长率均大于采用纵向定型。     

Resistance of aquaculture net cage materials to biting by Atlantic Cod (Gadus morhua)

Cod bite on aquaculture net cages has resulted in damages like frayed netting and holes, which in part can explain why cultured cod have escaped more frequently than salmon over the last years. We describe damages found on various netting materials subjected to cod bite through field experiments at commercial cod farms. Further, a method to test local cod bite resistance of traditional netting structures is suggested and initial results from a test jig prototype are given. Results from field experiments indicated that cod may have been attracted by types of netting that made it possible to draw filaments out of the twine, while stiff, coated netting structures and thick filaments showed no sign of bite damage during the test period. We concluded that netting materials for cod aquaculture must be resistant to cod bite or be repellent or uninteresting for cod. Based on the present findings, the better choice among the traditional netting materials seemed to be hard-laid netting materials, preferably with a primer that glues the filaments together.     

An adaptive method of damage detection for fishing nets based on image processing technology

For offshore aquaculture cages, structural damage can cause serious economic property damage to the aquaculture industry, thus it is necessary to carry out regular inspections of the cage structure. At present, the main method of detecting netting damage is that the staff sneak into the water for manual investigation. This method not only does not guarantee personal safety, but is also labor-intensive and inefficient. This paper proposes a new feature curve method for non-contact underwater netting damage detection, which can effectively recognize damaged netting and analyze the degree of damage for the underwater net and return to its damage position. The new method presented in this paper was designed taking into consideration of effect of seaweed growth: Firstly, an image block within the ROI (region of interest) region was processed by bilateral filter. Secondly, the binary image was obtained via the OSTU (the maximum inter-class variance method) method and connected domain detection was performed. Thirdly, the feature gradient histogram was calculated according to the area of the mesh hole and the local peaks of the curve (named as feature curve) was searched to determine the position of damage in the netting. The proposed method combined the image processing technology with aquaculture engineering seamlessly, and reduced the complexity of the detection system greatly, and significantly improved the efficiency of the netting detection. Finally, the MATLAB program was developed to realize the netting detection process and the proposed method had been verified by the actual underwater netting experiment. The experimental results showed that the netting damage detection method proposed in this paper can successfully detect crack of the netting despite image degradation in water.     

Experimental study of the drag on fine-mesh netting

The hydrodynamic forces on netting have been investigated by many researchers. They proposed equations to estimate the drag and lift coefficients of the netting, taking the effects of the Reynolds number and solidity ratio into account. However, there are few studies on the hydrodynamic forces on netting with a fine mesh, which is sometimes used in Japan for farming small fish, such as young sardines. The size of the fine mesh is a few millimeters, whereas the solidity ratio of the netting is similar to that of standard netting. The drag on fine-mesh netting may increase because of the effects of blocking. In the present study, the drag on fine-mesh netting was examined by means of a towing experiment in a water tank. The experiment included an investigation of the drag on a planar net, a half-circular net, a circular net, and a circular net with a bottom, to understand the effect of the attack angle of the water current and wake. As a result, the drag coefficient of the plane net was in the range of those proposed in the previous studies. The effect of the attack angle of the water current was approximately reproduced by the cosine function. The reduction factors for the water current velocity through the circular net also agreed with those proposed in the previous studies, whereas it was approximately at the maximum among the previous estimations. Consequently, the drag on fine-mesh netting could be well explained by the estimates from the previous studies. However, the drag at the bottom of the net, parallel to the water current, was overestimated if hydrodynamic forces act on each transverse twine normal to the flow direction. The effects of the interactions among the twines, which are aligned parallel to the flow direction, should be specifically examined as a future study.     

Effect of an intensive mechanical removal effort on a population of non‐native rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss in a South African headwater stream

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高分子编结网片水动力特性水槽试验研究

高分子渔用材料在设施养殖和海洋渔业中的应用越来越广泛,对其水动力特性进行研究十分必要。试验采用不同网目系数和网线粗度的高分子编结试验网片进行水槽试验,倾角从0°变化到90°,设置水流速度从0.3 m/s开始,以0.1 m/s为梯度,逐渐增大至1.3 m/s。为减小尾流和湍流对试验结果的影响,使用流线型框架固定装配。经试验得到以下结果:(1)在网片与水流垂直时,阻力系数有随网目系数增大而增大的趋势,而在网片与水流平行时,阻力系数随网目系数增大而减小。(2)阻力系数有随雷诺数增大而逐渐减少的趋势,网片平面与流体运动方向速度垂直时,阻力系数在13001500后阻力系数变化不大。(3)阻力系数随着冲角的增大而增大并最终趋于稳定值。(4)升阻力系数比(K)在总体上有随倾角变大而先变大再变小的趋势,K的极值均出现在20°到30°内,最大K值约为0.41。(5)网片与水流垂直时,在1000相似文献   

海水网箱网衣碱性硅酸盐防污涂料的初步研究

本文以碱性硅酸盐为主防污剂,开发了一种防污期长、无毒、环保且高效的海水网箱网衣防污涂料：涂有该种防污涂料的试验网衣于2002年4月开始进行浅海挂网试验．为期七个月;每月一次定期对试验网片进行附着情况检查、拍照及称重。结果证明．与对照组相比,涂有硅酸盐防污涂料的网衣材料的网片增重及被附着的面积百分比均有大幅度的降低;实拍照片也证明涂有防污涂料的网片具有极佳的防污效果：根据试验结果,讨论了影响防污涂料防污效果的诸多因素。