Catch composition and codend selectivity of inshore trawl fishery with the legal minimum mesh size

Abstract

Fisheries is an important socio-economic contribution to the coastal fishing communities of Vietnam. Unfortunately, inshore natural resources have decreased in recent years. This decline has been largely attributed to overfishing and using a fishing gear with poor size selectivity. This paper estimated size selectivity curves for 8 important economic species using a covered codend attached to the codend of a commercial inshore trawl in Quang Ninh province, Vietnam. Results showed that sublegal-sized individuals accounted for a high proportion of the catch, ranging between 29.22 and 46.69%. The lengths at 50% retention (l50) were below minimum landing sizes (MLS) for all species caught, except conger eel (Muraenesox cinereus). Our study provides important scientific information for the fishery management in the studied area.