Estimating the selectivity of unpaired trawl data: a case study with a pelagic gear

• Published in: Scientia Marina
• Main Authors: Manu Sistiaga, Bent Herrmann, Eduardo Grimaldo, Finbarr G. O’Neill
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas 2016
• Subjects: trawl selectivity; pelagic fisheries; unpaired data; cod; Aquaculture. Fisheries. Angling; SH1-691; Barents Sea
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3989/scimar.04409.26B; https://doaj.org/article/37bf58e18db34401b23ebc040dfa9b2f

Most selectivity experiments employ either the covered codend or paired gear methods. It is not always possible, however, to use these methods. Owing to operational, biological and/or environmental considerations, there may be no obvious way or it may be inappropriate to pair the test and control data. Hence, it will not be possible to estimate the selectivity of the gear and its uncertainty using standard statistical methods. This study presents a methodology for analysing the selectivity of fishing gears from unpaired test and control data. The uncertainty in the control and test population structures is accounted for by using a double bootstrapping procedure that takes into account both between-haul and within-haul variation. This bootstrapping approach is used to assess the selectivity of two different devices, a 139.5 mm T90 codend and a 135.9 mm codend with 140.9 mm lateral exit windows, in the Barents Sea pelagic cod trawl fishery. The purpose of the experiment was to test and compare the performance of the two devices in pelagic trawl fisheries, where high densities of fish can be encountered. Significant differences were detected between the T90 codend and the codend with the exit windows but only for sizes of cod between 55 and 76 cm.