Will you swim into my parlour? In situ observations of Atlantic cod ( Gadus morhua ) interactions with baited pots, with implications for gear design

PeerJ

article

Phillip Meintzer¹  Philip Walsh²  Brett Favaro² 

[1] Department of Ocean Sciences, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador;Center for Sustainable Aquatic Resources, Fisheries and Marine Institute of Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador

关键词: Underwater video;    Fisheries;    Atlantic cod;    Marine biology;    Behaviour;    Fishing gear;    Behavioural ecology;    Conservation;    Sustainability;    Newfoundland;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.2953

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

Pots (also known as traps) are baited fishing gears widely used in commercial fisheries, and are being considered as a tool for harvesting Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Pots produce lower environmental impacts than many other fishing gears, but they will only be a viable fishing strategy if they are efficient and selective at catching their target species. To study the behaviour of cod in and around pots, and how those behaviours affect pot efficiency, we used long-duration underwater video cameras to assess two models of cod pot deployed in the nearshore waters of Fogo Island, NL. We examined the number of cod that approached the pot, the number and proportion that successfully completed entries into the pot openings, and the number that exited, and related these factors to the direction of water movement. We observed very few entry attempts relative to the number of approaches by cod, and only 22% of all entry attempts were successful. We observed that 50% of approaches, 70% of entry attempts, and 73% of successful entrances occurred against the current, and 25% of cod were able to exit the pot following capture. Based on our observations, we suggest that future cod pots should have a greater number of entrances, or a mechanism to ensure that entrances rotate in line with the current, in order to maximize their catch efficiency for cod.

【 授权许可】

CC BY