Area VII Haddock Discard Eliminations using Technical Measures 2014/15 - Fisheries Science Partnership

Following experimental work carried out in 2013, a twin-rig trawler, the
Ilfracombe-based *Our Olivia Belle *(BD 277), was chartered to undertake
further trials of a modified demersal trawl in August 2014 to look at
selectivity in a mixed demersal fishery off south-west Cornwall. The primary
aim was to improve the selectivity of the trawl to reduce discards of unwanted
haddock with the least possible impact on the wanted catches of haddock and
other commercial species. This is important in view of the future
implementation of the landings obligation and associated catch quotas for
species such as haddock. Following discussions with several Newlyn-based
trawler operators, the decision was taken to investigate the effect of
inserting square-mesh panels (SQMP) of 155 mm mesh into the top panel of the
lengthener of an otter trawl. A twin-rig trawl, deployed as for normal haddock
fishing, was used to compare the catches of modified and standard trawl nets
in a series of tows on the fishing grounds off SW Cornwall.

继2013年进行的实验研究之后，以伊尔弗科姆比港为基地的双桅杆拖网渔船“我们的奥利维亚·贝勒”（BD 277）于2014年8月租用，以进一步试验改良型底层拖网。此举旨在研究在康沃尔西南部混合底层渔业中的选择性。主要目标是提高拖网的选捕性，以尽可能减少对目标捕捞的鳕鱼及其他商业鱼类的负面影响，从而减少不想要的鳕鱼丢弃量。鉴于未来实施上岸义务及其相关的鳕鱼等物种的捕捞配额，此举措尤为重要。在与数家纽林基地的拖网运营商进行讨论后，决定研究将155毫米网目的正方形网板（SQMP）嵌入獭形拖网加长板的顶部对捕捞效果的影响。采用与常规鳕鱼捕捞相同的双桅杆拖网，在康沃尔西南部渔场的一系列拖曳试验中，比较了改良型和标准拖网网具的捕捞量。