Size selectivity of a new sorting section combining a sorting grid and a square mesh panel was tested for haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus) in the Barents Sea demersal trawl fishery. Sampling data for a wide size range enabled investigating the selection process for this species in detail, both for the grid and the square mesh panel. Contrary to earlier studies modelling size selectivity for grids ...

The dense aggregations of Northeast Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) in the Barents Sea have led to a new fishing practice termed “buffer towing.” In this fishery, many trawlers redeploy the trawl directly after taking the catch onboard in an attempt to secure a continuous supply of fish and avoid any unnecessary stops during processing. If the approximate desired amount of fish is caught or exceeded ...

In recent years, Norwegian fishermen have reported problems with fish accumulation in front of the mandatory sorting grids (Sort-X, Sort-V, and Flexigrid). These problems are associated with high fish entry rates and low water flow through the grid sections. In this study, we replaced the lifting panel in the original design of a sorting grid section (Sort-V) by another steel grid (“lower grid”) in ...

The Nordmøre grid is widely used in shrimp trawls to reduce the bycatch of fish species. However, small-sized fish species and juveniles still pass through the grid and enter the codend, along with the targeted shrimp. This bycatch of small fish has a negative impact on the ecosystem due to increased fish mortality, and leads to additional sorting work onboard. Some small-sized fish that enter the ...

The Nordmøre grid is regarded as an efficient bycatch reducing device and is used in various shrimp trawl fisheries globally. However, in some shrimp fisheries bycatch remains a problem that seriously impacts commercial trawl activities. This study tested and compared the performance of two versions of the Nordmøre grid in the Northeast Arctic Deepwater Shrimp (Pandalus borealis) fishery; a standard ...

The introduction of the Nordmøre grid to shrimp trawls has reduced the issue of bycatch to that of small-sized species and juveniles that are able to pass through the grid and enter the small-meshed cod end together with the targeted shrimp. This study estimated the size- and species-selective performance of the Nordmøre grid in the configuration most often applied by fishermen and made a preliminary ...

Trawl-caught fish are frequently associated with deteriorated catch quality. This study presents a new dual sequential codend concept with the aim of improving the quality of trawl-caught fish by minimizing the frequency and severity of catch damage. During towing, the fish are retained in an anterior codend segment with the legislated mesh size. A quality improving codend segment, is attached to ...

Sorting grids and square mesh panels are the two most-applied technical devices to supplement codend size- and species-selection in demer- sal trawls. In the Barents Sea gadoid fishery, the compulsory size-selectivity system comprises a mesh section with a sorting grid followed by a diamond mesh codend. We tested the size-selective performance of a new sorting section that comprised a sorting grid ...

Greenland halibut (<i>Reinhardtius hippoglossoides</i>) is a commercially important species in the northeast Atlantic trawl fishery. However, direct fishing for it is not allowed and it can only be harvested as bycatch. We investigated for the first time the size selection of Greenland halibut in a newly developed double steel grid system designed for the cod and haddock bottom trawl fishery. In ...

The high abundances of Northeast Arctic cod (Gadus morhua) in the Barents Sea have led to the development of a new fishing tactic called buffer towing. On factory trawlers, the trawl is deployed immediately after taking the catch onboard, a tactic used to ensure a continuous supply of fish is being processed. If the desired amount of fish is caught before the catch from the previous haul has been ...