Refining Dredge Bag Modifications to Reduce Small Scallop and Sand Dollar Catch
GENERAL DESCRIPTION:
We recently completed a project that tested different modifications to the standard scallop dredge bag in an attempt to reduce small sea scallop and sand dollar catch. This project is the second phase of this effort and builds upon the results of the completed project.
The ring size of the scallop dredge bag strongly influences the size and species that are caught, and the industry standard for the Atlantic sea scallop dredge bag ring is four inches. This multi-phase initiative seeks to test the ability of dredge bag ring size modifications to reduce the risk of small scallop discard mortality in areas of mixed sizes and improve scallop catch efficiency in areas of high sand dollar abundance.
In the first phase, we compared the efficiency of the standard 4-inch ring dredge bag against an experimental 4.5-inch ring dredge bag in areas with less-than-optimal conditions The 4.5-inch ring dredge bag caught a higher proportion of larger scallops and fewer sand dollars than the 4-inch bag. However, the overall catch of scallops was lower than desired, indicating the need to explore ways to increase the catch while keeping bycatch low.
Download a summary flyer for this project here!
Project goals:
Test techniques already employed by fishermen to reduce unwanted catch
Test whether 4.25-inch rings and longer commercial-length tows can yield higher catch rates for scallops
Share our results directly with the scallop fishing community
Project team:
Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation
Becky Smoak - Project Lead
Jill DaSilva
N. David Bethoney
Collaborators
Jake Wiscott, F/V Susan L
Chris Roebuck, F/Vs Karen Elizabeth and Yankee Pride
