Abstract
A Nordmøre-style grid is required in many pink shrimp (Pandalus borealis) trawl fisheries in Europe and North America. However, the Nordmøre Grid does not reduce the catch of small shrimps. To reduce catch of small shrimps, a size-sorting grid with 11mm grid spacing was developed and has been used by some trawlers. However, we do not know if the 11mm spacing is the optimal spacing for the fishery. We thus compared two sizes of grid spacing: 9 and 11mm. A trouser trawl system was developed and used to compare a codend with a 9mm spacing size-sorting grid and another identical codend with an 11mm spacing size-sorting grid. No significant differences were observed in the catch rate of shrimp, or major bycatch species between the two grids (p=0.35). The 11mm grid caught slightly less shrimps between 18 and 22mm carapace lengths that correspond to carapace widths of 8.5–10.5mm. This indicates that shrimps with 8.5–10.5mm carapace width might have escaped through the 11mm grid, but not the 9mm grid. These findings provide a scientific base and practical guidance for choosing grid spacing based on the size of shrimp to be released.
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