Turtle incidences in shrimp trawl nets during the 1997-1998 shrimp season in bahrain waters

摘要

In 1985, the Directorate of Fisheries (Bahrain) initiated a fishing log scheme to collect shrimp trawl fishery data. in the 1997-1998 season, fishermen were instructed to report on turtle catching incidences in standard fishing logs. The current work highlights the 1997-1998 fishing log information on turtle incidence. The percentage of boats reporting on turtle incidence ranged from 20.3 to 35.3% for different months. Fishermen use a single local name for all marine turtles found in Bahrain waters. This may indicate the abundance of a single species, which most likely is the green turtle. Turtles were reported in 12 out of the 20 grounds fished during the 1997-1998 season. The highest turtle incidence and fishing effort values were found in October 1997. Higher incidence rates were found in the Green Buoy, Aljarim, Tugailib, Mishtan, and Alshiekh fishing areas. The highest total seasonal incidence was found in Qumais, which was the second highest in terms of fishing effort. Lowest incidence rates were found in January 1998. This study is the first attempt to assess turtle incidence in shrimp fishery in the Arabian Gulf area.