A meta-analysis of vertical stratification in demersal trawl gears

• Main Authors: Fryer, Robert, Summerbell, Keith, O'Neill, F. G.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: NRC Research Press (a division of Canadian Science Publishing) 2017
• Subjects: Gadus morhua; North Atlantic
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1807/76908; http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/abs/10.1139/cjfas-2016-0391

A meta-analysis is presented of fishing trials that use trawl gear with horizontal separator panels to direct fish into an upper or lower codend. The analysis is applied to eight North Atlantic species: the gadoids cod (Gadus morhua), haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus), saithe (Pollachius virens) and whiting (Merlangius merlangus), the flatfish lemon sole (Microstomus kitt) and plaice (Pleuronectes platessa), and monkfish (Lophius piscatorius) and Nephrops (Nephops norvegicus). The proportion of fish that rise above the separator panel decreases as the height of the leading edge of the panel increases, for six of the eight species. Only monkfish and Nephrops have no significant dependency on panel height. Cod is the only species for which separation depends on the horizontal distance of the leading edge of the panel from the ground gear, with the proportion of cod going above the panel increasing the further the panel is from the ground gear. The time of day only affects the separation of plaice, with a greater proportion going above the panel at night than during the day. The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author.