Studies on the fish catch efficiency of different types of fishing gear in Kaptai Reservoir, Bangladesh

Abstract

AbstractA comprehensive analysis of the efficiency of different fishing gear in capturing Cyprinidae (major carp) species in Kaptai Reservoir, Bangladesh, was conducted. The catch per unit effort (CPUE) data were collected during a 1‐year survey, covering a total of 493 independent fishing units spread across the four major fishing grounds of the reservoir. The study examines the CPUE and catch composition between months and study sites, and the effects of reservoir water level fluctuations, gear diversity and fish distribution patterns on the fish catches. The mean CPUE for all gear ranged between 2.91 and 30.86 kg unit−1 day−1. Analysis of variance showed significant differences among the fishing gear types. The CPUE differed significantly between months for lift nets, large‐meshed (LM) gill nets, cluster hooks and hand lines. None of the fishing gear exhibited significant differences between sites except for cluster hooks. The CPUE of small‐meshed (SM) seine nets was significantly higher than that of other gear. The reasons for such differences in the fish catches were identified as the choice of fishing places, the net sizes, the number of hooks, lures and baits, water turbidity, wind, waves and rainfall. The CPUE indices for lift nets showed significant variation between months for the Cyprinidae species. A significant variation in catch at the different sites was found for all nets, except SM seine nets. The contribution of the Cyprinidae species showed significant differences between sites only for hand lines. The coefficient of variation of CPUE for fishing nets did not vary much more than 55% (lift net), whereas the highest variation of 49% was recorded for hand lines among the hooks and line. Higher reservoir water levels were followed by reduced CPUEs for the Cyprinidae species and vice versa, whereas the highest water levels corresponded to the higher CPUE for the Clupeidae species.