Abstract
ABSTRACT The beach seine fishery at Oruwella, Tangalle, Sri Lanka (6°1'51“N; 80°ˊ47'57”E) was studied for its discarded bycatch over 34 months. Fishes of the benthic family-Cynoglossidae were most frequent (40.5 %) for the whole study period while jellyfish (Aurelia sp) showed the highest catch frequency (77.2 %) during the southwest monsoon. The species composition of the bycatch (per haul) was higher during the northeast monsoon than the other two periods. Thus, monsoonal and incidental jellyfish (Aurelia sp) blooms had significant impacts on the abundance and species composition of the bycatch. The study reported 26 bycatch species where 65 % and 73% of the bycatch organism types were benthic and non-commercial species respectively. As 72.6 % of hauls had less than 20 bycatch individuals, the total bycatch abundance (per haul) was comparatively low. The study also revealed the lowest number of discarding bycatch species among other studies. Cod-end made with relatively large (>0.5cm) mesh and traditional knowledge of fishers to forecast specific commercial fish schools contributed to lowering the abundance and the bycatch species in this fishery. As alive bycatch is thrown back into the beach water, the chances of survival are likely to be increased for some bycatch individuals.
Published Version
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