The Finfish Bycatch of the Bahrain Shrimp Trawl Fisheries PDF

Keywords

shrimp bycatch, finfish, Bahrain

Abstract

Finfish bycatch data were collected for the Bahrain shrimp fishery on a bi-weekly basis during the period from February 1999 to January 2000. Sampling was conducted by a commercial fishing boat in the shrimping ground between latitudes 26° 15'47 and 26° 28'38'' N and longitudes 50° 32'27'' and 50° 48' 23''E. In all bycatch collections, 92 finfish species belonging to 44 families were identified. Fish to shrimp ratio monthly means ranged from 1.5-31:1 and 0.9-21:1 on a weight and number basis respectively. Lower ratios were found in February and March 1999, and higher ratios were found in April and November 1999. Monthly mean numbers of fin-fish species in the bycatch ranged from 17 to 28 species, while one to three species were found in 50% of bycatch by numbers. The presence of commercial finfish species in the shrimp bycatch indicates the interference of the shrimp fishery with other fisheries found in Bahrain waters. G. argyreus was the most abundant bycatch species. Higher numbers of small fishes emphasized the importance of reducing small fish numbers in the future development of the Bahrain Bycatch Reduction Device (BRD). Monthly abundances and size information were presented for the 20 most abundant finfish species in the shrimp bycatch.