An in situ study of predator aggregations on scallop (Pecten maximus (L.)) dredge discards using a static time-lapse camera system.

The impact of demersal fishing gears on benthic habitats and species has been the subject of much attention recently, and suggestions have been made that scavenging epifaunal species may benefit at the population level from the additional food source provided by discards. This paper investigates some aspects of this process, including the relative attractiveness to predators of different discard species, and the role of damage in scavenger attraction. A time-lapse video system with a 1000 m long cable was positioned in an area closed to fishing, adjacent to the most heavily fished scallop (Pecten maximus) ground in the Irish Sea. A variety of undamaged and damaged by-catch animals were positioned in front of the camera, and the subsequent predator aggregations investigated. Densities of scavenger species up to 200 times that of the background population were observed, and aggregations of some species persisted for up to 3 days. The most frequently recorded scavengers, and therefore presumably those species most likely to benefit from discards as a food source, were: Asterias rubens L., Astropecten irregularis (Pennant), Liocarcinus spp Stimpson, Pagurus spp Fabricius and Callionymus lyra L. Predator attraction to apparently undamaged queen scallops, Aequipecten opercularis (L.), was almost as high as to damaged A. opercularis. Of all the prey species studied, queen scallops were the most attractive to scavengers. A directional relationship was found between the ambient water current and the arrival of the starfish, Asterias rubens.