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Article: Sustainability of elasmobranchs caught as bycatch in a tropical prawn (shrimp) trawl fishery.
- Article from:
- Fishery Bulletin
- Article date:
- October 1, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 National Marine Fisheries Service. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Abstract--The bycatch of Australia's northern prawn fishery (NPF) comprises 56 elasmobranch species (16 families). The impact of this fishery on the sustainability of these species has not been addressed. We obtained estimates of catch rates and the within-net survival of elasmobranchs. Carcharhinus tilstoni, C. dussumieri, Rhynchobatus djiddensis, and Himantura toshi represented 65% of the bycatch. For most species, >50% of individuals in the bycatch were immature, and some species recruited to the fishery at birth. For all species combined, 66% of individuals in the bycatch died in the trawl net.
The relative sustainability of elasmobranchs caught as bycatch ...