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Which are the best environmental conditions for catching the beach‐seine target species? A Portuguese case study
Author(s) -
Teixeira Célia M.,
Silva Priscila M.,
Gamito Rita,
Amoroso Sandra,
Lopes Nuno,
Freitas Catarina,
Cabral Henrique N.,
Costa José L.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
fisheries oceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.016
H-Index - 80
eISSN - 1365-2419
pISSN - 1054-6006
DOI - 10.1111/fog.12470
Subject(s) - pelagic zone , fishery , sardine , bycatch , fishing , oceanography , portuguese , environmental science , horse mackerel , generalized additive model , discards , mackerel , geography , fish <actinopterygii> , biology , geology , philosophy , linguistics , statistics , mathematics
The beach‐seine fishery is a commercial fishing activity on the Portuguese coast, with reports dating as far back as the early 15th century. The main target species of this fishery are small pelagic fish such as Atlantic chub mackerel, Atlantic horse mackerel and sardine. To identify the best conditions for fishing the target species, catches of beach seine (2007–2017) were used and generalized linear models were applied, using a binomial and gamma distributions. The logistic model explained between 36.3% and 45.7% of the catches variability; the gamma model explained 9.1% and 46.9% of the catches variability, being month and wind direction the best covariates for the occurrence and/or abundance of the three small pelagic fishes in analysis. If the effort is directed to the days that meet the conditions found for each species (sardine: between May and October, wind NW, daytime; Atlantic horse mackerel: May, NW/NE wind, 800 m from the coastline; Atlantic chub mackerel: from July to August, NW moderate wind), a reduction in bycatch and discards can be achieved. This approach can have a positive economic and social impact, since it provides information for turning fisheries more efficient.