The effects of trawl codend mesh size selectivity on the length composition of catches of pandora, Pagellus erythrinus L. 1758 in the shelf area of the Montenegrin coast (South Adriatic)

Abstract

       Selectivity curves of pandora (Pagellus erythrinus, L. 1758) have been estimated in the area of the Montenegrin shelf (South Adriatic), for trawls with bar mesh sizes of 13.5, 16.1, 17.5, 22 and 35 mm (according to national legislation in Montenegro bar mesh size is measured from knotto knot which is, according to Commission Regulation (EC) No. 129/2003, stretched mesh size divided by 2). Although the existing national legislation prescribes that the minimum mesh size ofthe trawl be not smaller than 20 mm, trawls with forbidden mesh sizes are often used in this area. Results obtained showed that meshes smaller than 20 mm (13.5 mm, 16.1 mm, 17.5 mm) catch large numbers of immature individuals, since the length of 50% retention (L50%) for all these meshes issmaller than the length of fish at first spawning and which is, for Pagellus erythrinus in Montenegrin waters, ≈ 12 cm. L50% is longer than the average length of the first spawning only for nets with openings of 22 mm and 35 mm bar mesh size.