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 the Northeast Atlantic deep-water shrimp (Pandalus borealis) trawl fishery, the bycatch of juvenile fish and shrimp represents a problem. This study evaluated if inserting a 200 mm mesh size top-panel in the last three sections of the tapered upper belly section of the trawl could reduce bycatch of juveniles while maintaining the catch efficiency for deep-water shrimp. The bycatch species ...

The Nordmøre grid is the principle bycatch mitigation device in many shrimp trawl fisheries. However, in several of these fisheries, bycatch is a problem because small sized fish can pass through the grid and enter the codend together with the targeted shrimp. One such fishery is the Northeast Atlantic deep-water shrimp (<i>Pandalus borealis</i>) fishery, where the use of a Nordmøre grid is mandatory. ...

The catch efficiency of two types of groundgear—a conventional rockhopper and a new type of groundgear called the semicircular spreading gear (SCSG)—was investigated through experimental fishing for Haddock Melanogrammus aeglefinus conducted in the Barents Sea. A retainer bag was attached behind the footrope of the trawl, and the number of fish that were overrun by the trawl was compared with the ...

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 ...

A new codend concept developed and tested exhibited significantly improved quality of caught cod (<i>Gadus morhua</i>) compared to that of the conventional codend used in the Barents Sea bottom trawl fishery. However, the design of the new quality-improving codend raised concerns about its size selectivity and the possibility that higher retention probability could negatively impact the catch pattern ...

Damage incurred during the catch process is an indicator of the overall quality of fish and fish welfare. Because catch quality is difficult to improve once it has deteriorated, it is important to preserve quality during the catch process. Atlantic cod (<i>Gadus morhua</i>) is the most important species in the Barents Sea bottom trawl fishery. Bottom trawling is a non-benign fishing method, and it ...

Sorting grids are introduced in trawl fisheries to improve size selectivity and reduce the variability of results obtained with sorting devices constructed of netting e.g., codends. Grids are rigid or semi-rigid structures where the bar spacing defines the sizes of fish that can pass through. However, for size selection to occur, fish need to be oriented towards the grid in specific ways, which ...

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 aim of this study was to compare the catch quality of Northeast Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) in the Barents Sea bottom trawl fishery caught using the conventional configuration (a sorting grid followed by a diamond mesh (T0) codend) and a T90° turned mesh codend (T90) without a grid. Twenty hauls were conducted, consisting of 10 hauls with the conventional configuration and 10 hauls with the ...