Comparison of Four Trawls for Sampling Juvenile Shad

Abstract

Abstract A single-mesh neuston net, bimesh neuston net, paired frame trawls, and Tucker trawl were compared at three sites in Lake Texoma, Texas-Oklahoma, to determine their relative efficiency and precision in sampling juvenile threadfin shad Dorosoma petenense and gizzard shad D. cepedianum. The frame and Tucker trawls provided similar estimates of threadfin shad and gizzard shad densities that were significantly higher than those estimated for the two neuston nets. The bimesh neuston net provided significantly higher estimates of threadfin shad and gizzard shad density than the single-mesh neuston net. Correlation of density estimates of threadfin shad and gizzard shad among transects were highest for the frame and Tucker trawls, indicating that these gears provided the most similar trends in density estimates among transects. Similarly, the frame and Tucker trawls provided the most similar estimates of threadfin shad and gizzard shad size distributions. The Tucker trawl captured significantly higher p...