Kite Escape Device: a New Approach to Reduce Bycatch in Shrimp Trawls

Shrimp trawls are one of the main bycatch generators in artisanal fisheries. Our work evaluated the adoption of low cost devices for artisanal bottom trawling to reduce bycatch assimilation and improve shrimp catches. To evaluate the proposed changes, we evaluated the performance of four different trawl gears from May to July 2015 in Pinheira Beach, Brazil. The hauls were divided into four treatments as follows: (1) hauls with unmodified control gear, (2) hauls with gear that included the kite escape device (KED), (3) hauls with gear that included long sweeps, and (4) hauls with gear that included both the KED and long sweeps. The second trawling group (2) showed the highest reduction in bycatch for all trawl gears. Additionally, all hauls that included the KED and/or long sweeps had improved shrimp catches during the study compared with trawl nets without the KED. During the hauls with KEDs we got the best shrimp‐to‐bycatch proportion (1:8.9). The modifications proposed can improve trawl gear selectivity while maintaining the shrimp catches.