Evaluation of the capture efficiency and size selectivity of four pot types in the prospective fishery for North Pacific giant octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini)

• Main Authors: Barry, Patrick D., Tamone, Sherry L., Tallmon, David A.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2010
• Subjects: Biology; Ecology; Fisheries; Lair; Pacific; Kachemak; Kodiak; Alaska; Chionoecetes bairdi; Tanner crab
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1834/25414

Over 230 metric tons of octopus is harvested as bycatch annually in Alaskan trawl, long-line, and pot fisheries. An expanding market has fostered interest in the developmentof a directed fishery for North Pacific giant octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini). To investigate the potential for fishery development we examined the efficacy of four different pot types for capture of this species. During twosurveys in Kachemak Bay, Alaska, strings of 16 –20 sablefish, Korean hair crab, shrimp, and Kodiak woodenlair pots were set at depths ranging between 62 and 390 meters. Catch per-unit-of-ef for t estimates were highest for sablefish and lair pots. Sablefish pots caught significantly heavier North Pacific giant octopuses but also produced the highest bycatch of commercially important species, such as halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis),Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus), and Tanner crab (Chionoecetes bairdi).