Performance of a conical jellyfish exclusion device installed in a trawl net

摘要

Recently, the increasing population of giant jellyfish Nemopilema nomurai has negatively affected coastal fisheries in Korea. As a result, the fishing industry has begun developing devices to prevent jellyfish capture. In this study, we assessed the performance of a conical jellyfish exclusion device in the coastal areas of Yokji Island in southern Korea during 2009. After hauling, we measured the length, diameter, and weight of the jellyfish and fish that were captured by the cod end and cover net. We found that the captured species included N. nomurai, silver croakers Pennahia argentata, yellow croakers Larimichthys polyactics, shotted halibut Eopsetta grigorjewi, largehead hairtails Trichiurus lepturus, and melon seeds Psenopsis anomala. The catch ratios of the giant jellyfish that entered the cod end in terms of weight ranged from 0.005 to 0.027. In contrast, the catch ratios of total fish in terms of weight and number were 0.793 and 0.835, respectively. On selectivity analysis of a conical separator for individual fish species, their exclusion ratios were independent of their length, and were similar to their observed exclusion ratios in terms of number. These results indicated that the conical jellyfish exclusion device performs well; however, some improvements are needed to minimize the escape of fish from the net.