Trawl fishing grounds on the eastern Adriatic coast

Abstract

        The paper deals with a problems of quantitative and qualitative changes of edible demersal resources (fiches, crustaceans, cephalopods) in the Yugo­slav waters. Seven divided trawl fishing grounds to which the data refer have been chosen with regard to biocenological peculiarities of the facies of bottom sediments: clay, loamy, sandy, shellsandy and degree of trawl exploitation.

        Data for those studies are mostly collected by means of research vessels and available commercial trawl catches were considered. From presented data it is evident that the fishing enterpreses and private fishermen perform mos­tly their operations within two restricted areas: northern channel region (area A) and central Adriatic (area D), i. e. over the fishing ground of »Nephrops norvegicus-Thenea muricata« community.

        Tough percentage values of group Chondichtyes and catch per unit effort have been decreased since 1948th year, trawl operations have been kept on mostly in two areas (A and D) because of dominance of the two species: Nor­way lobster (Nephrops norvegicus) and Hake (Merluccius merlucius) by means of which the fishing enterprices can obtain the highest market values. Such policy of the Yugoslav trawl fishery, with a lack of governmental financial subsidy, has restricted possible extention of the trawl grounds over Adriatic continental shelf.

        Because of the lack of precise fiching effort data demersal stock asses­sment and sustatinable yield estimate have not been done.