Reducing bottom trawl seabed impacts and bycatch in the Eastern Canada offshore Northern shrimp (Pandalus borealis) fishery ...

• Main Author: Araya-Schmidt, Tomas
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Memorial University of Newfoundland 2022
• Subjects: Canada; northern shrimp; Pandalus borealis
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.48336/fe01-ts16; https://research.library.mun.ca/15626/

The offshore Northern shrimp (Pandalus borealis) fishery in Eastern Canada is currently harvested by factory freezer vessels using bottom trawls. This fishery is a major contributor to the regions’ economy. However bottom trawling typically is associated with negative benthic impacts and bycatch. To address seabed impact, this thesis evaluated the at-sea performance of a traditional roller footgear using underwater cameras. Results showed that footgear sections were rotating at extremely low rates and offered essential information to further develop an innovative footgear with reduced seabed impact. Secondly, an innovative aligned-rolling footgear was designed and evaluated for use in the fishery. I compared traditional and experimental footgears using engineering models and simulated seabeds in a flume tank. Results revealed that the aligned-rolling footgear bottom trawl produced significantly lower warp loads and reduced seabed contact up to 71.5% depending upon seabed penetration depth modelled. Next, I ...