lowering headline height (<1 m)

to reduce the capture of haddock and whiting in a Nephrops trawl

Target species:
Nephrops and mixed whitefish and flatfish species

Area, Vessel
14 twin trawl, catch comparison hauls took place in the N.Sea (ICES area IVa), North East of Fraserburgh, on board the Favonius (PD17) (23m, 480kW) during November 2010.
Gear type:
twin trawl

Gear modification
A standard prawn trawl with a headline height of ~ 2 m is compared with a newly designed prawn trawl that has a headline height of ~ 1 m.


Results:
Cod: The low headline did not affect the catches of cod. Haddock and Whiting: There was no difference between the two trawls for smaller whiting and haddock. However, fewer large whiting (> 28 cm) and large haddock (> 31 cm) were caught in the low headline gear Nephrops: The standard gear caught more Nephrops with carapace length from 37mm (18%) to 50mm (32%).
Further information:
Kynoch, R.J., et al., 2011. Trials to assess the potential for Nephrops trawls with low headline heights (<1M) in reducing whitefish by-catches.Scottish Industry Science Partnership Report Number 02/11.




Citation :
Kynoch, R.J. et al. , 2017. lowering headline height (<1 m) . In O’Neill, F.G. and Mutch, K. (Eds): Selectivity in Trawl Fishing Gears. Scottish Marine and Freshwater Science Vol 8 No 1.