WEST BENGAL UNIVERSITY OF ANIMAL
AND FISHERIES SCIENCE
FACULTY OF FISHERIES
SCIENCE A SEMINAR ON TRAWL NET
SELECTIVITY
COURSE TITLE:FISH STOCK
ASSESSMENT,FRM-502
SUBMITTED SUBMITTED
TO: BY:
DR.T.S.NAGESH ASHIMA
DEPT.OF FRM PANDA
M.F.Sc 1ST
YEAR
CONTENTS:
1. Introduction
2. Gear selectivity
3. Advantage of selectivity
4. Trawl net
5. Factors affect
6. Estimation method
7. Length selection
8. Selection ogive
9. Recent advances
10.Conclusion
INTRODUCTION:
Fisheries management often uses a minimum fish length as away
to protect species from overfishing.
The length set is usually based on size at maturity – allowing fish
to reproduce at least once or twice before it becomes legal size. To
eliminate the catch of undersized fish,fishermen can use mesh size
to control the size.
In trawl net the final catch can be selected in the bag or cod end of
the net.
fishing gears are typically size selective and we need to specify
how vulnerable fish are to capture by a particular gear at a
particular age if we are to accurately estimate fishing mortality at
age and overall biomass.
GEAR SELECTIVITY:
Gear selectivity is the property of the gear that allows the catch to have a
different composition from the fish population in which the gear is being
used.It is important in fish stock assessment ,gear design and
development.
Selectivity is a quantitative expression of a proportion and represented as
a probability of capture of a certain size of fish in a certain size of mesh/
hook.
Most fishing gears like, trawl gears are selective for the larger sizes,
While gill nets are selective for a certain length range only, thus
excluding the capture of very small and very large fish. This property of
fishing gear is called "gear selectivity".
Thompson and Ben-Yami (1984) considered selectivity as the capacity
of any method of gear type to capture certain fractions or sections of the
fish population.
It encompasses factors like mesh size,gear design,fish behavior,size
range of fish caught.
ADVANTAGE OF SELECTIVITY:
Selectivity is an important tool for effective management of
fisheries.
Allow gear technologists to design gear to target and capture fish by
species, size or sex or a combination of these during fishing
operation, allowing all incidental by-catch to be released unharmed.
By regulating the minimum mesh size of a fishing fleet, the
minimum landing size or minimum legal size of the target species
can be determined.
Several researchers stress the importance of selecting the optimum
mesh size from the perspective of conservation of population
Help in return of juveniles back into the system – helps in continued
reproduction and growth of the stocks
Reduction of destructive fishing practices.
Allow harvest of targeted fish thereby decreasing labour for sorting.
TRAWL NET:
The trawls are cone-shaped net (made from
two, four or more panels) which are towed,
by one or two boats, on the bottom or in
midwater (pelagic).
The cone-shaped body ends in a bag or
coded. The horizontal opening of the gear
while it is towed is maintained by beams,
otter boards or by the distance between the
two towing vessels (pair trawling).
Floats and weights and/or hydrodynamic
devices provide for the vertical opening. Two
parallel trawls might be rigged between two
otter boards (twin trawls).
The mesh size in the codend or special
designed devices is used to regulate the size
and species to be captured.
FACTORS INFLUENCING TRAWL NET SELECTIVITY:
Mesh size: The size of the net's openings determines which fish can
pass through. Larger mesh sizes generally catch larger fish, while smaller
mesh sizes target smaller fish. The size of the mesh is determined by
measuring the stretched mesh length or distance between opposite knots.
Fish Behavior: Species-specific behaviors, such as swimming speed,
depth preference, and reaction to trawl gear, impact how fish encounter
and respond to the net, affecting catch composition and size distribution.
Environmental Conditions: Factors like water depth, temperature,
currents, and seabed topography can influence fish distribution and
behavior, thereby affecting trawl net selectivity.
Trawl Design: Variations in trawl net design, such as different types
of codends or escape panels, can influence which species or sizes of fish
are retained or allowed to escape.The design and set up of trawl
gear ,shape and size of net,otterboard,bridles effect how fish enter and
interacxt with the net.
ESTIMATION OF TRAWL NET SELECTION:
MESH MEASUREMENT:
In trawl net, the fine-meshed end of the net where the catch is collected is called
the codend. It appears that the "mesh size" of the codend determines, to a large
extent, the selectivity of trawl gear. The "mesh size" is usually defined as the
length of the "stretched" whole mesh. The mesh size of the netting is 2*d, where
d is the length between two knots.
Internal mesh size (mesh lumen) measured when the net is wet is most
commonly used for selectivity studies. The former type has been recommended
as standard gauge for scientific purposes by ICES and is now widely used for
mesh measurement during selectivity studies,with an operating pressure of 4kg.
METHODS FOR SELECTIVITY OF TRAWL GEAR:
1.Covered cod end method
2.Trouser cod end method
3.Twin trawl ,parallel haul and alternate haul method
1.Covered cod end method:
Selectivity data may be obtained by attaching a small-meshed (usually 15-30 mm
stretched mesh) cover over codend or other parts of the trawl to retain animals
escaping trough the trawl.
Investigations of Stewart &Robertson (1985) have indicated that a cover, which
is 1.5 times the length and width of a cod-end is unlikely to obstruct the cod-end
meshes.
Use of hoop to keep the cover separated from cod-end may improve the
performance. Covered cod-end method is a simple method in which a
commercially used trawl design can be adapted for the experiment, after
substituting the cod-end. It is possible to use data from each haul to estimate the
selection.Most of the recent works have used plastic hoops to negate the masking
effect of cover on selectivity.
Trouser cod end method:
In the trouser trawl method, two cod-ends - one having
the mesh size for which the selective properties are to be
determined and the other with a much smaller mesh size
- are attached to a single trawl.
The catch in the small mesh cod end is considered as
sample of the population.
In the trouser trawl experiment, an initial assumption
used for calculation of selectivity is that fish
encountering the gear enters either side with equal
probability. This assumption of 50:50 splits is not always
satisfied due to differences in sampling area, water low
through small and large meshes.
The select methodology developed by Millar and Wash
(1992).
Twin trawl,parallel haul and alternate haul method :
Two trawls of similar design and rigging differing only in cod-end
meshes are operated either in parallel tows from one or two vessels or in
alternate tows from the same vessel, in the same fishing ground
maintaining the operating parameters unchanged during successive
operations, to facilitate statistical comparison of size com position. The
assumption used here is that the expected number of fish encountering
both the trawls is the same. Analytical procedures are similar to trouser
trawl method.
Length selection:
Selection length (L50) :is a term used to describe the fish length at
which a particular gear allows 50% of the fish to escape and 50% of the
fish to be retained.
Selection range :is the difference in length between the fish that have a
retention probability of 25% and those fishes that have a retention
probability of 75%, which is symmetrical (proportional) around L50%.
Selection factor :is an index related to escapement factor
expressing the relation between the 50% point (the fish length at which a
particular gear allows 50% of the fish to escape) and the size of the mesh
involved.
Continue….
Logistic curve: SL=1/1+exp(S1-S2*L)
Here, SL is the function of the ogive defining for each length L.
S1(a) intercept & S2(b) slope are two parameters in logistic equation.
The equation can be written as,
ln(1/SL-1)=S1-S2*L
The length range from L25% to L75%, which is symmetrical (proportional)
around L50%, is called the "selection range“. The formulas for calculating
L25% ,L50% and L75% are:
L50%=S1/S2
L25%=(S1-ln3)/S2
L75%=(S1+ln3)/S2
Selection range: L75%-L25%
S1 = L50%* ln(3)/(L75% - L50%), S2 = ln(3)/(L75% - L50%) =S1/L50%
Mean selection length=SF*Mesh size
Selection ogive:
The size of fish that is retained is considered to be a probability. When
probability of capture is plotted against the fish size, usually the length, we
get an sigmoid curve ( Selection ogive) which completely describes the
selectivity of a towed gear, which reaches 1.00 (100% retention) at a
certain length and which approaches 0.00 (0% retention) at a certain small
length.
This sigmoid curve is called the "gear selection ogive". It is convenient to
present the results of selectivity experiments in terms of two parameters
which summaries the ogive, the 50% retention length (L50). L50 is the fish
length corresponding to 50% chance of capture. Selection ogive/ Sigmoid
curve is also termed as asymmetrical curve or `S’ shaped curve the gear
prevents escapement of larger ones but allow smaller ones to escape in
relation to size i.e. it catches increasingly more fish as the size increases .
sigmoid curve ( Selection ogive) of trawl net
Recent advances in trawl selectivity:
1. Develpement of selective trawls
2. Use of square mesh panels and codend in trawl construction
3. Optimum mesh size determination for multi species trawl
fisheries
4. Use of morphometric measurement of fish to determine gear
selectivity
CONCLUSION:
Fishery resources are harvested by a wide variety of gear.
Responsible fishing requires that fishing gear which should preferentially catch the
adult fish at a particular age, which would maximize yield and permitting the
juveniles, sub- adults to escape. It also minimize the catch of non-targeted and
protected species.
Different methods used for determining trawl selectivity for the developments of
selective trawls, use of square mesh in trawl construction, and optimum mesh size
determination for multi- species trawl fisheries.
Selection parameters for a large number of species are now available in the Indian
scenario ,many states have incorporated suitable mesh size in their respective
marine fisheries regulation Acts.
Reference:
• Overview of trawl gear001 ;https://Krishi.icar.gov.in
