A method for estimating fish density through the catches of gillnets
Abstract We propose a new method for estimating fish density using catches obtained by gillnets of given mesh size. This method builds on work for estimating the number of fish approaching a gillnet by modelling the fish movement that leads to a gillnet encounter. The theoretical framework is develo...
| Published in: | Fisheries Management and Ecology |
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| Main Authors: | , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2022
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/fme.12597 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/fme.12597 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1111/fme.12597 |
| Summary: | Abstract We propose a new method for estimating fish density using catches obtained by gillnets of given mesh size. This method builds on work for estimating the number of fish approaching a gillnet by modelling the fish movement that leads to a gillnet encounter. The theoretical framework is developed, and the method is tested on catch data for cod Gadus morhua and Dolly Varden Salvelinus malma to demonstrate how the method can be applied. The method relies on knowledge of geometric properties of the net, and morphological and behavioural properties of the fish, so we explore the sensitivity of the estimates to some of these parameters. Estimates are most sensitive to the morphological parameter of the angle the mouth is open while swimming and largely invariant to estimates of uncertain parameters like maximum number of fish that can be caught by the particular net. |
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