Catch composition and risk assessment of two fishing gears used in small-scale fisheries of Bandon Bay, the Gulf of Thailand.

Abstract

We examined catch compositions and vulnerability of target and bycatch species in two fishing gears, namely the bottom-set gillnet and collapsible crab trap, used in small-scale fisheries of Bandon Bay, Suratthani Province, Thailand. Both gears mainly target the blue swimming crab (BSC) Portunus pelagicus, and together contribute about half of Thailand’s annual BSC catch of around 2.5 thousand tonnes. Field sampling was conducted from January to November of 2018. Specimens from bottom-set gillnets and collapsible crab traps comprised 111 and 118 taxa, respectively. Of these, 26 and 27 crab species and 41 and 46 fish species were collected by gillnets and traps, respectively. The index of relative importance of BSC was higher in gillnets (48.8 ± 16.6%) than in traps (25.0 ± 15.5%), where another swimming crab (Charybdis affinis) was more common. Cluster analysis revealed that catch compositions were seasonal and differed between the two monsoonal seasons, i.e., northeast monsoon (October to February) and southwest monsoon (May to September), and the transition period (March and April). Potential impact from both fishing gears on various stocks was assessed by standard productivity and susceptibility analysis (PSA). Vulnerability scores of the BSC stock as the main target species suggested it was at moderate risk, as assessed by PSA. The impacts of both gears to stocks of the other species in Bandon Bay showed either low or moderate risk. Ten fish stocks, including two stingrays, six species of sole and two other bony fishes, were near the threshold of high risk from gillnet fishing.