By-catch is considered a significant problem in large-scale fisheries yet in small-scale fisheries (SSF), employing >99% of the world’s fishers, there is limited quantitative understanding of by-catch, and catches in general. We provide an assessment of by-catch from fishing gears (fyke, trawl, set trammel, and drift trammel nets) commonly used in small-scale fisheries across the globe, using a...

Bycatch studies have largely ignored population level effects on fish species of little commercial interest. Here we analyze bycatch of the lined seahorse (Hippocampus erectus) in the bait-shrimp trawl fishery in Hernando Beach, Florida, providing the first fisheries data for this species. Based on catch per unit of effort (CPUE), size, sex, and reproductive status of trawled H. erectus, 1) app...

Species richness and abundance of epibenthic fishes and decapod crustaceans were quantified with daytime beam trawl tows and throw traps to provide information on nekton assemblages in Zostera marina and unvegetated sandy habitats in northern latitudes. Sampling at randomly selected stations with a 1.0-m beam trawl occurred in eelgrass (Zostera marina) and unvegetated sandy substrates of two mi...

Catch quotas for walleye pollock Gadus chalcogrammus, the dominant species in the groundfish fishery off Alaska, are set by applying harvest control rules to annual estimates of spawning stock biomass (SSB) from age-structured stock assessments. Adult walleye pollock abundance and maturity status have been monitored in early spring in Shelikof Strait in the Gulf of Alaska for almost three decad...

Bottom trawl survey data are commonly used as a sampling technique to assess the spatial distribution of commercial species. However, this sampling technique does not always correctly detect a species even when it is present, and this can create significant limitations when fitting species distribution models. In this study, we aim to test the relevance of a mixed methodological approach that c...

Seabirds are attracted to fishing vessels by the discard of waste from fishing. While this waste provides an available food source, seabirds foraging near vessels are at risk of either being caught or struck by the fishing gear. Within New Zealand waters, there were 212 seabirds observed killed by trawlers during the 2006–07 fishing year. Birds feeding on fishing waste behind trawlers may be st...

Elasmobranchs are among the most threatened long-lived marine species worldwide, and incidental capture is a major source of mortality. The northern central Adriatic Sea, though one of the most overfished basins of the Mediterranean Sea, supports a very valuable marine biodiversity, including elasmobranchs. This study assesses the impact of the northern central Adriatic pelagic trawl fishery on...

Bottom trawl fishery is one of the most important coastal fisheries in Taiwan both in production and economic values. However, its annual production started to decline due to overfishing since the 1980s. Its bycatch problem also damages the fishery resource seriously. Thus, the government banned the bottom fishery within 3 nautical miles along the shoreline in 1989. To evaluate the effectivenes...