Preliminary results on the use of semi-floating shrimp traps for the striped soldier shrimp, &lt;em&gt;Plesionika edwardsii&lt;/em&gt; (Crustacea: Decapoda: Pandalidae), off the Algarve coast (southern Portugal)

Moritz Eichert,Paulo Fonseca,Victor Henriques,Aida Campos,Margarida Castro

doi:10.3989/scimar.04758.02a

Preliminary results on the use of semi-floating shrimp traps for the striped soldier shrimp, <em>Plesionika edwardsii</em> (Crustacea: Decapoda: Pandalidae), off the Algarve coast (southern Portugal)

Moritz Eichert, Paulo Fonseca + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3989/scimar.04758.02a

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Abstract

The present study provides an account of an experimental survey aiming at the evaluation of the catchability of the striped soldier shrimp, Plesionika edwardsii, using semi-floating shrimp traps off the Algarve coast (southern Portugal). Currently, this species is not targeted by the crustacean bottom trawl fleet, and preliminary results on product value suggest that this may become an economically viable new fishery. Preliminary results suggest that this fishery could contribute to the diversification of fixed gears of low environmental impact targeting deep-water crustaceans, in agreement with the objectives of both the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and the reformed Common Fisheries Policy. However, potential spatial conflicts with trawling, the unknown size of the resource and a necessary precautionary approach may limit the number of licences that can be granted.

Highlights

IntroductionDeep-water crustaceans are commonly captured with trawls, and Portugal is no exception
Worldwide, deep-water crustaceans are commonly captured with trawls, and Portugal is no exception
Fig. 3. – Box-plots representing the number of Plesionika edwardsii in individual traps as a function of: presence or absence of bait (n_present=160, n_absent=33) (A) and distance of the trap from the sea floor (B), long distance about 1.5 m, short distance about 0.5 m (n_long=91, n_short=101)

Summary

Introduction

Deep-water crustaceans are commonly captured with trawls, and Portugal is no exception. The Portuguese trawl fleet comprises about 80 trawlers (DGRM 2017), 26 of which are licensed for 55 and/or 70 mm codend mesh size classes, constituting a distinct fleet component targeting crustacean species. This fleet segment operates off the south and southwestern Portuguese coasts on muddy bottoms at the edge of the continental shelf and upper slope, at depths ranging from about 150 to 700 m and deeper (Campos et al 2007). The trawling activity drives the associated ecosystem into a continuous state of disturbance, resulting in significant impacts on both the faunal composition (Jones 1992, Roberts 2002, Gage et al 2005) and substrate properties (Martín et al 2014, Oberle et al 2015) of the benthic community

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