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A test of crayfish predatory and nonpredatory fish species as bait in crayfish traps
Author(s) -
TAUGBØL T.,
SKURDAL J.,
BURBA A.,
MUNOZ C.,
SÁEZROYUELA M.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
fisheries management and ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.693
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1365-2400
pISSN - 0969-997X
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2400.1997.d01-168.x
Subject(s) - perch , crayfish , astacus , rutilus , pike , esox , fishery , biology , predation , catch per unit effort , predatory fish , zoology , ecology , fishing , fish <actinopterygii>
The effectiveness of different crayfish: predatory (pike, Esox lucius L., perch, Perca fluviatilis L.) and nonpredatory [roach, Rutilus rutilus (L.) , and bream, Abramis brama (L.)] fish species as bait for noble crayfish, Astacus astacus L., was tested. Trapping was conducted in two lakes in Norway and Lithuania. Nonpredatory bream and roach were superior as noble crayfish bait compared with predatory perch and pike. In the Norwegian lake bream was also superior to roach. Pike‐ and perch‐baited traps tended to catch larger crayfish than bream‐ and roach‐baited traps. An alarm or avoidance response to different live or dead fish predators (e.g. pike or perch) might exist and could be more pronounced in smaller crayfish, thus explaining that pike and perch as bait catch fewer and larger crayfish. Another explanation could be that the odour of pike and perch flesh is simply less attractive or diffuses more slowly through the water. Selecting the most efficient bait will increase the catch per unit effort (CPUE); in this study there was a four‐fold variation in CPUE between the best and worst bait type. In test‐fishing/monitoring surveys it is important to standardize the bait type used.