Report on the effect of light lines on fish behaviour and light line experiments on a commercial vessel.

• Main Authors: O'Neill, Barry, Watson, Dan, Moret, Kelly
• Other Authors: O' Neill, Barry, Ulrich, Clara, MacKenzie, E, Summerbell, K, Favaro, Brett, Winger, Paul, Nguyen, Khanh Q., Morris, Corey, Grant, Scott M.
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2018
• Subjects: Snow crab
• Online Access: https://zenodo.org/record/3254384; https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3254384

Box 1: Report Highlights Proto type light-emitting devices for use on trawl fishing gears have been developed and tested Laboratory experiments investigating the behavioural response of haddock and cod to light of different wavelengths, intensity and strobing rates. Continuous lines of light have been shown to influence the height at which some species enter a trawl gear Illuminated grids in the extension section can be used to direct fish out of the trawl gear or to different codends where further selection can take place. Adding white and purple LED lights into baited traps significantly improved the catch per unit effort of snow crab Box 2: The methods/approaches followed Design and development of physical hardware, software and user interfaces. Laboratory experiments with captive fish. Catch comparison fishing trials. Box 3: How these results can be used and by who? Fishers and net makers – to develop gears that utilise light to select for fish that best match their quota allocation. Fishing gear scientists – to better understand how light can be harnessed to improve trawl gear selectivity and the fishing efficiency of traps. Box 4: Policy recommendations This report demonstrates the potential of using light to improve the selective performance of gears, which if to be fully exploited requires (i) committed research support and (ii) a regulatory framework that is sufficiently flexible to accept readily new technologies and novel gears.