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Relative benthic disturbances of conventional and novel otter boards and ground gears

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  • Fisheries
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Abstract

A benthic trawl’s substrate contact (e.g. spreading mechanisms (i.e. otter boards) and ground gears) determines both its catching efficiency and the extent of perceived habitat impacts. The potential for mitigating habitat impacts was investigated here via the novel ‘batwing’ otter board and ‘soft-brush’ ground gear. A purpose-built testing assembly towed treatments across three artificial habitat types with incrementally greater detachment thresholds (~ 8, 32 and 56 N), and the batwing and soft-brush were alternately compared against a conventional flat-rectangular otter board and three chain ground gears (6-, 8- and 10-mm diameter link), respectively. Overall, during 48 alternate deployments, the batwing removed up to 61% fewer of all habitats than the flat-rectangular otter board. By comparison, during 42 alternate replicates, the soft-brush ground gear failed to displace any habitat, while all three chain ground gears similarly removed between 3 and 5% of the two least resistant habitats (irrespective of position). The results imply the perceived impacts of penaeid trawls across sensitive areas can be reduced via simple modifications to spreading mechanisms and ground gears, along with appropriate spatio-temporal regulation. This study represents a unique approach to understanding the relative differences in impacts between ground gears and commercial-sized otter boards under controlled conditions.

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Acknowledgements

This study was funded by the New South Wales (NSW) Department of Primary Industries and the Australian Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC; Grant no. 2011/010). Funding for developing and implementing the batwing otter board was provided by the World Wildlife Fund PA 01, PA 17; Envirofund 62463; and the FRDC (Grant nos 2004/060, 2008/079). Thanks are extended to Greg Skilleter, Steve Everson, Matt Harrison, Craig Brand and especially Sean Blake.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Marine and Estuarine Ecology Unit, School of Biological Sciences (Goddard Building), University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia

    Matthew J. McHugh & Matt K. Broadhurst

  2. NSW Department of Primary Industries, Fisheries Conservation Technology Unit, National Marine Science Centre, PO Box 4321, Coffs Harbour, NSW, 2450, Australia

    Matt K. Broadhurst

  3. Sterling Trawl Gear Services, 187 Ernest St, Manly, QLD, 4179, Australia

    David J. Sterling

  4. Department of Statistics, The University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, New Zealand

    Russell B. Millar

Authors
  1. Matthew J. McHugh
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  2. Matt K. Broadhurst
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  3. David J. Sterling
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  4. Russell B. Millar
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Correspondence to Matthew J. McHugh.

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McHugh, M.J., Broadhurst, M.K., Sterling, D.J. et al. Relative benthic disturbances of conventional and novel otter boards and ground gears. Fish Sci 86, 245–254 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12562-019-01392-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12562-019-01392-2

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