The bycatch composition of shrimp trawl fishery in the Oman coastal waters, the Arabian Sea

Shrimps are one of the most valuable marine resources of Oman and shrimp fisheries is greatly contributing to the national economy, and sustainability of traditional fisheries villages. However, the shrimp trawl fishery has one of the highest bycatch rate of any fishery and cause negative impacts to marine populations and benthic habitats. Shrimp trawl survey was conducted monthly from January to December 2013 in seven sites using demersal otter trawl. Overall, 93 trawl catches were used for the analysis of the bycatch composition based on weight, number, and frequency of occurrence. Mean monthly bycatch during the shrimp trawling survey in the coastal waters of Oman in 2013 ranged from 22.2 to 191.5 kg.h^sup -1^, in different months with an overall mean of 58.7 ± 5.2 kg.h^sup -1^. The bycatch to catch ratio was estimated 8.9 : 1 for shrimp fisheries. This ratio fluctuated significantly over the year with minimum values from April to September.