Effect of tooth spacing on the contact selection and available selection of a dredge for the equilateral Venus clam <Emphasis Type="Italic">Gomphina melanaegis</Emphasis>

ABSTRACT:   The effect of various tooth spacing on the contact selection and the net-mouth available selection of a dredge for the equilateral Venus clam Gomphina melanaegis is evaluated by applying a contact-probability model based on the SELECT method to the data of paired-gear tests with a control dredge of 12-mm tooth spacing and four test dredges of tooth spacing 16, 20, 24 and 35 mm. A master selection curve was estimated to be s ( R ) = exp(−11.23 R  + 4.799)/(1 + exp[−11.23 R  + 4.799]) where, R is l / d , the ratio of the shell length, l , to the tooth spacing, d . The shell width of 50% retention was slightly smaller than the tooth spacing, which means that size selectivity of teeth was a type of contact selection which was dependent on the tooth spacing. Contact probability, δ, of the clams coming into contact with the teeth were 0.625, 0.467, 0.563, 0.670 and 0.976 for tooth spacing 12, 16, 20, 24 and 35 mm, respectively. This indicates that some clams entered the dredge bagnet without contacting the teeth as the sand clogging the tooth spacing carried them into the bagnet. Available selection curve of the dredge net-mouth with teeth was obtained as δ s ( R ) + 1 −  δ , and examined in terms of the legal landing size of the Venus clam.     

Mesh selectivity of encircling gill net for gizzard shad Konosirus punctatus in the coastal sea of Korea

ABSTRACT:   Fishing experiments were carried out in Yeongil Bay, Korea using an encircling gill net with four different mesh sizes and two different hanging ratios to measure the mesh selectivity for gizzard shad Konosirus punctatus . Twenty-six trials were conducted giving a total catch of 485 gizzard shad. The 'share each length's catch total' (SELECT) analysis with maximum likelihood method was used to fit the different functional models, the normal, lognormal, and bi-normal model, for a selectivity curve to the catch data. In addition, two cases in which the relative fishing intensity was either estimated or fixed were compared. The bi-normal model with the fixed relative fishing intensity was found to fit the data best. For the selectivity curve on the bi-normal model, the relative length (the ratio of fish length to mesh size) with the maximum efficiency was obtained as 3.70. From this, the focal fish lengths in the commercial encircling gill net, with mesh size ranging from 5.0 to 6.0 cm, were inferred to be 18.5–22.2 cm.     

Performance of a conical jellyfish exclusion device installed in a trawl net

Recently, the increasing population of giant jellyfish Nemopilema nomurai has negatively affected coastal fisheries in Korea. As a result, the fishing industry has begun developing devices to prevent jellyfish capture. In this study, we assessed the performance of a conical jellyfish exclusion device in the coastal areas of Yokji Island in southern Korea during 2009. After hauling, we measured the length, diameter, and weight of the jellyfish and fish that were captured by the cod end and cover net. We found that the captured species included N. nomurai, silver croakers Pennahia argentata, yellow croakers Larimichthys polyactics, shotted halibut Eopsetta grigorjewi, largehead hairtails Trichiurus lepturus, and melon seeds Psenopsis anomala. The catch ratios of the giant jellyfish that entered the cod end in terms of weight ranged from 0.005 to 0.027. In contrast, the catch ratios of total fish in terms of weight and number were 0.793 and 0.835, respectively. On selectivity analysis of a conical separator for individual fish species, their exclusion ratios were independent of their length, and were similar to their observed exclusion ratios in terms of number. These results indicated that the conical jellyfish exclusion device performs well; however, some improvements are needed to minimize the escape of fish from the net.