Reducing Small Sea Scallop and Sand Dollar Catch Through Dredge Bag Modifications
GENERAL DESCRIPTION:
Wind farms are being constructed in productive scallop fishing grounds, which is affecting the scallop fishing industry. This means that fishermen need to find more efficient ways to catch scallops in areas with less than optimal conditions. An example of this type of area is somewhere where there are a lot of sand dollars or small scallops. This project aims to help fishermen catch fewer of this unwanted catch while catching scallops more efficiently in these areas.
To do this, we are testing different modifications to the standard scallop dredge bag. The standard regulatory size for steel rings in the dredge bag is currently four inches. In collaboration with commercial fishing vessels, we are testing this standard bag against three modified bag designs in at-sea trials: one is a standard bag with stretched-out rings and chains, and two bags are experimental, both incorporating larger ring sizes. The data will be used to determine how effective these bag modifications are at reducing large catches of sand dollars and small scallops. Additionally, we will determine whether these modifications improve the catch of larger-sized scallops, thereby creating another option for fishermen to increase fishing effort efficiency.
Project goals:
1. Expand on previous research in exploring scallop gear modifications
2. Test adaptations of gear already employed within the scallop fleet
2. Evaluate modifications that can reduce small scallop mortality and sand dollar bycatch while possibly improving larger scallop catch
Data Collection Strategies:
Conduct paired tows with standard and modified dredge bags to compare gear modifications against the regulatory standar design
Sample in areas of high densities of sand dollars and/or small scallops to compare catch efficiency of modified designs
Analyze the data and communicate findings to the fishing industry
Project team:
Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation
Becky Smoak - Project Lead
N. David Bethoney
Collaborators
Jake Wiscott, F/V Susan L
Chris Roebuck, F/V Karen Elizabeth
