Trawler Engine Size Had No Effect on Baltic Herring Size/Age Structure: An Experimental Study in the Gulf of Riga, Baltic Sea

Fishes

Elor Sepp¹  Tiit Raid¹  Markus Vetemaa¹  Timo Arula¹ 

[1] Estonian Marine Institute, University of Tartu, Mäealuse 14, 12618 Tallinn, Estonia;

关键词: herring fishery;    engine effect;    Gulf of Riga;    Baltic sea;    Baltic herring;   

DOI  :  10.3390/fishes7010046

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

The Gulf of Riga stock of Baltic herring (Clupea harengus membras L.) has been maintained through several management tools. One such tool is the restriction of vessels’ main engine power (<221 kW). This restriction was implemented in the early 1990s and is based on the vessel types available in the area and on the assumption that the gear size used in trawl fishery depends on the vessel size (power). In the current study, we compared vessels with different engine powers using the same gears currently allowed in the gulf, to identify whether vessel power had any relation to catch structure. The results showed that engine power did not explain the differences in catch structure, which were more dependent on season and depth of water. Easing the power restriction of the trawl vessels in the Gulf of Riga will most likely not have a major negative impact on the sustainable management of the herring population. However, vessels with higher engine power should not use larger trawl gear than is currently used in the gulf.

【 授权许可】

Unknown