Testing of a Low Profile Excluder Dredge for Winter Founder Bycatch Reduction-Proof of Concept
- Total Amount Awarded: $30,000
- Project Duration: June 1, 2010 - December 31, 2010
- Status: Completed
Project Team:
- Ronald Smolowitz (Project Leader, Coonamessett Farm Foundation, Inc.)
- Matt Weeks (Coonamessett Farm Foundation, Inc.)
- Ronnie Enoksen (Dockside Repair, Inc.)
- Peter Anthony (Eastern Fisheries)
- Tor and Hans Bendiksen (Reidar’s Manufacturing)
Project Summary:
The goal of the project is to ascertain how winter flounder can be encouraged to avoid capture in a scallop dredge or to escape once caught. A new concept for a scallop dredge frame will be designed and constructed based on experiences with the Cfarm turtle excluder dredge. The new dredge will be taken to sea on a three day research trip and the operation extensively video taped using gear mounted cameras in an area with concentrations of winter flounder. The resulting information will be used to improve the proposed scallop dredge frame.