Innovative Vibrating Hydraulic Dredge for Striped Venus (Chamelea gallina) Fishing

Giuseppina Mascilongo,Nicola D'Alterio,Ludovica Di Renzo,Federica Di Giacinto,Marco L Bianchini,Corrado Costa,Daniele Pochi,Damianos Chatzievangelou,Carla Giansante,Claudio Costa,Roberto Fanigliulo,Nicola Ferri

doi:10.3390/agriengineering4010001

Abstract

This work proposes the experimentation of an innovative hydraulic dredge for clam fishing (Chamelea gallina) in the Adriatic Sea (Italy). This innovative gear aimed at increasing the selectivity of the typical hydraulic dredge used currently, while at the same reducing the impact on benthos through the conception, installation, and experimentation of innovative technological solutions, consisting mainly of a vibrating bottom panel on the dredge and a “warning device” on the dredge mouth. Comparative experiments of the traditional vs. the modified gear, employing two boats fishing in parallel on the northern coast of Abruzzi (Adriatic Sea) and contrasting the catch with both paired comparisons and through modelling, showed that the innovative hydraulic dredge retains fewer undersize clams while yielding similar amounts of commercial product, moreover of higher quality; at the same time, it takes on board less discard, and catches significantly less vagile fauna. In short, the innovative gear is gaining five times over a list of six parameters considered as positive and/or advantageous for the clam fishery. The results allow proposals of potential improvements to clam-fishing instruments to make the selection processes more effective while promoting a lower impacting fishery, which is essential for clam management.

Highlights

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutralClams are a high-value seafood product in the European Union, which is a net importer since production is relatively low in relation to consumption
The hydraulic dredging seems to have a negative influence on clam growth performance, as a higher growth rate in areas not impacted by fishing with traditional hydraulic dredges than those exploited with this gear has been observed in the Black sea [33]
This study revealed a high selectivity of the innovative dredge which produced minimal quantities of undersized clams and other benthic invertebrates captured

Summary

Introduction

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutralClams are a high-value seafood product in the European Union, which is a net importer since production is relatively low in relation to consumption. The fishery experienced a drop in catches, and at present, annual landings are roughly of the order of 14,000 tons, with an approximate first-sale value of about €32 M (EU Member States for the 2015 DCF fishing fleet economic data call). Such reduction in catches spurred the Italian government to impose a number of management regulations on gear characteristics (technical measures), the number of fishing days per year (fishing effort or inputs) and individual catch quota per day (catches or outputs). After examining various scientific contributions, the bivalve mollusks belonging to the (super)genus Venus spp. have been considered by the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) as species with a high survival with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations

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