Testing of Low-Profile, Low-Bycatch Gillnets

Project Leader:
Michael Pol, Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries
Additional Project Participants:
H. Arnold Carr, Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries
Robert MacKinnon, Massachusetts Gillnetters' Association

"Two experimental gillnets were tested that are designed to reduce or eliminate the bycatch of cod while targeting flatfish species. Both experimental designs reduce the vertical profile of the nets in the water. One experimental design modifies a foam-core floatline by adding lead every few feet; the other net replaces the gillnet's floatline with another leadline so that the net lies nearly completely on the bottom. Both are 8 meshes deep (MD) and have different floatation and hanging ratios. The nets were quantitatively compared to standard gillnets (25 MD) to determine their effectiveness in reducing cod bycatch. The nets with lower vertical profiles have been shown to reduce the catch of legal cod, but not discarded cod. Catch rates of flatfish could not be compared, due to low catch numbers. Filming with an underwater camera indicated that the orientation of the nets was different than anticipated. Research has continued on these gillnets with additional funding the Northeast Consortium in FY2001." extracted from: Summary of Completed Cooperative Research Projects Funded by the Northeast Consortium, January 2006

Parameter names and Descriptions each with a different form of flotation on the headline.
A: had floats
B: had foamcore and lead
C: had foamcore only
D: second leadline in place of floatline "NK" indicates species "not known".

Related data objects:
Total weights from all net configurations
Gillnet bottom temperatures