The Efficiency of a Bycatch Reduction Device Used in Skimmer Trawls in the Florida Shrimp Fishery

Of principal concern to those who regulate shrimp harvesting gear are the quantity and composition of nontargeted species (bycatch) harvested by any allowable gear type. The use of skimmer trawls in the Florida shrimp fishery is a contested issue, in part because little bycatch characterization data exist for this gear. We characterized skimmer trawl bycatch and evaluated the efficiency of the Florida Fisheye (FFE) bycatch reduction device in a skimmer trawl typically used by commercial fishermen in Apalachicola Bay, Florida, an area with an active fishery for white shrimp Litopenaeus setiferus (also known as Penaeus setiferus). In general, the finfish bycatch in a 4.9‐m‐long × 3‐m‐wide skimmer trawl net equipped with an FFE was significantly lower than that in an identical net towed simultaneously but without the FFE; the two nets, however, did not differ in the quantity of shrimp retained. The magnitude of the reduction in bycatch in the FFE‐equipped net varied between seasons (spring and fall) and among finfish species and, in the case of silver seatrout Cynoscion nothus and Atlantic croaker Micropogonias undulatus, between size‐ (i.e., age‐) groups. Preliminary tests of FFEs in skimmer trawls in North Carolina also show a reduction in bycatch; we provide further details on how bycatch reduction devices work in skimmer trawls. Overall, our results indicate that skimmer trawls equipped with FFEs should compare favorably with other allowable shrimping gear.