Acronym NA
Category
Fisheries
Title Study of the selectivity of gillnet for common sole in the northern Adriatic Sea Programme Nat. Programme (supported by ESIF)
Instrument (FP6)
Contact Type (FP7)
Strand (Interreg)
NA
Theme (FP7)
Activity Area (FP6)
Regional Area (Interreg)
Action (COST)
NA
Specific Programme (FP7)
NA
Funding source National-European Coordinator Gianna Fabi Coordinator email gianna.fabi@cnr.it
Coordinator institution
CNR - National Research Council (Italy)
Institutions involved
IOF - Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries (Croatia) ,
ISPRA - Italian National Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (Italy) ,
Start year 2004 End year 2005 Funding (€) € 53,240 Website NA Summary Sole juveniles concentrate along the western Adriatic coast where they are targeted from spring to autumn by small-scale gill netters. As in spring-early summer 20 to 30% of catch biomass consists of individuals smaller than MLS (TL = 20 cm), the selectivity of sole gill nets was investigated in 2004-2005 in order to obtain useful information for developing management measures aimed at reducing the retention of undersized specimens and assuring the sustainability of this fishery. Twenty-eight fishing trips were performed using sole gill nets with 5 mesh openings (64.2, 65.2, 67.8, 70.2 and 71.8 mm) simultaneously. The gill net selectivity was estimated indirectly by applying the SELECT method and between-set analysis. The log-normal curve was found to fit single set data better than other models. The catch yields did not significantly decrease with the increment of mesh size: the biomass of undersized individuals in catches noticeably decreased from 16% down to 9% in the largest mesh size, whilst the sole that were longer than the MLS increased proportionally. In view of the lower economic value of smaller specimens with respect to the larger ones, adopting the 71.8 mm mesh represents a good compromise between the need to protect juveniles and the economic profit of gill netters.
The project was aimed to estimate the interspecific selectivity of the gillnet commonly used by small-scale fishermen to catch common sole (Solea solea) in the coastal areas of the central and northern Adriatic Sea. The objective was to identify the optimal mesh size for the rational exploitation of this species and for minimizing the impact on the other coastal resources.
Keywords
Gear selectivity;
Sole;
Flatfish;
Fishing technology;
Gillnets;
Fish;
Marine Region
74
Northern Adriatic (GSA 17)
1
Marine Region Map
