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Use of Traditional Ecological Knowledge to Reduce Striped Bass Bycatch in the Currituck Sound White Perch Gill‐Net Fishery
Author(s) -
Blake Price A.,
Rulifson Roger A.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
north american journal of fisheries management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.587
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1548-8675
pISSN - 0275-5947
DOI - 10.1577/m03-124.1
Subject(s) - fishery , bycatch , perch , morone , bass (fish) , biology , fishing , fish <actinopterygii>
The gill‐net fishery for white perch Morone americana in upper Currituck Sound, North Carolina, currently is regulated by season, mesh‐size, and net tending restrictions primarily intended for reducing the bycatch of striped bass Morone saxatilis . The fall fishery (September– December) cannot use small‐mesh nets, and fishers must tend nets at all times within a distance of 91.4 m. The spring fishery (January–April) also has small‐mesh restrictions, but fishers can leave nets unattended. Commercial fishers are concerned about these restrictions. We examined these concerns by designing a study in which randomly deployed gill nets were paired with nets set at sites chosen by a commercial fisher based on traditional ecological knowledge of the region. The commercial fisher reduced bycatch of striped bass while maintaining catches of white perch. Marketable quality (i.e., average size) of white perch was not significantly different between random sets and commercially designated sets. Most of the total catch (95%) and a majority of striped bass (64%) were caught alive. The number of live captures was inversely correlated with water temperature and positively correlated with oxygen content. Management recommendations include initiation of similar gill‐net studies both within Currituck Sound and statewide for comparison of results, development of a fisher questionnaire to ascertain experience level, and establishment of observer coverage to confirm the results presented here.