Dataset: Use of Kites in Shrimp Codends to Reduce Small Shrimps and Bycatch Species from F/V North Star NEC-PH2003-1 in the Gulf of Maine from February to May 2004 (NEC-CoopRes project)

This project was to test an assumption that codend meshes expended by water-borne kite would allow more small shrimps and finfish to escape from the codend. A full scale kite-assisted shrimp trawl codend was tested in a flume tank to determine kite size, number of kites, their position and installation on the codend. The resulting full scale codend was tested at sea for the pink shrimps in Gulf of Maine shrimp trawl fishery through comparative fishing using the two-vessel parallel tow method. Seventy-seven pairs of tows were completed on two rigging designs. The results did not support the assumption that codends expanded by water-borne kites would reduce finfish and small shrimp catch in the fishery. Catch and bycatch data collected throughout sea trials showed that a significant amount of fin fish bycatch still exists in the fishery even with the use of the Nordmore Grid. This is especially true for whiting for which a large amount of catch was discarded late in the season. This result indicates a need for continued effort in research and development for a better shrimp trawl to minimize bycatch in the pink shrimp fishery.

Final report