Gill net selectivity of yellow perch

Abstract

Yellow perch Perca flavescens (Mitchill) are typically collected using multi-mesh gill nets; however, gear selectivity information for this species is sparse. Selectivity using experimental gill nets was determined for yellow perch using data collected from southern Lake Michigan from 2007 to 2012 using stretch mesh sizes of 12.5, 16, 20, 25, 32, 38, 46, 51, 64, and 76 mm. Female selectivity was best described by a model with a skewed (log-normal) distribution while males were best described by a normal distribution. When sex data were combined, the skewed (log-normal) distribution provided the best model. Differences in selectivity between sexes were minimal, but likely due to the variant size structure of the local population sampled, with females the larger sex. These findings suggest that bias in individual gill net selectivity can be used to target specific yellow perch size groups or to replace other gear types with unknown selectivity.