Trade-off between drag and catch performance when designing zooplankton trawls

The aquaculture sector is in pursuit of sustainable and cost-effective raw materials for feed, and the copepod Calanus finmarchicus is a marine zooplankton species of commercial interest because of its high abundance in northern areas. These copepods have the potential to meet the demand for vast quantities of marine raw materials. However, the lack of an energy- and catch-efficient trawl technology has limited the development of this fishery. Therefore, this study investigated the effect of two central trawl net design parameters mesh size and taper angle to identify which values that provide optimal trade-off balance between gear drag and catch efficiency. We conducted flume tank experiments using a series of plankton nets varying in mesh size (250–1000 μm), solidity ratio (0.54–0.76), and taper angle (5°– 30°) to acquire data on gear drag. The same nets were then used in fishing trials to obtain data on their catch performance. This study shows that zooplankton nets with a mesh size of approximately 500 μm and a low taper angle of about 5° provided the best trade-off between drag and catch performance. •Effect of mesh size and taper angle on performance of zooplankton trawls.•Gear drag and catch efficiency are important performance measures for trawls.•Trade-off between catch efficiency and gear drag when selecting gear mesh size.•Trade-off between catch efficiency and gear drag to when selecting gear taper angle.