Catching efficiency of gill nets and trammel nets for penaeid prawns

Abstract

Fishing experiments were carried out with gill nets and trammel nets off Cochin, India, from June to August 1991 to determine the relative catching efficiency of these nets to penaeid prawns. A fleet of nets consisting of two sets of gill nets of polyamide (PA) monofilament and PA multifilament; and one set of PA multifilament trammel nets, each of four units of mesh sizes 34.0, 38.0, 40.0 and 50.0 mm was used. The relative efficiency of gill nets and trammel nets with regard to material and mesh size was compared. PA monofilament was 1.5 times more efficient than PA multifilament as a gill net material. Of the four mesh sizes used, 38.0 mm gave higher catch rates than the other mesh sizes for the exploitation of Penaeus indicus of the 100–160 mm length group. Trammel nets caught on average two times more prawns than monofilament gill nets.