Abstract
The effect of long-term use on the catch efficiency of biodegradable gillnets was investigated during commercial fishing trials and in controlled lab aging tests. The relative catch efficiency between biodegradable and nylon gillnets was evaluated over three consecutive fishing seasons for Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) in Norway. The biodegradable gillnets progressively lost catch efficiency over time, as they caught 18.4%, 40.2%, and 47.4% fewer fish than the nylon gillnets during the first, second, and third season, respectively. A 1000-hour aging test revealed that both materials began to degrade after just 200 h and that biodegradable gillnets degraded faster than the nylon gillnets. Infrared spectroscopy revealed that the chemical structure of the biodegradable polymer changed more than the nylon. Although less catch efficient than nylon gillnets, biodegradable gillnets have great potential for reducing both capture in lost fishing gear and plastic pollution at sea, which are major problems in fisheries worldwide.
Highlights
Gillnets are among the most common fishing gears used in both developing and developed countries (FAO, 2016)
The results have shown that the catch efficiency of biodegradable gillnets is lower than that of nylon gillnets and that the mechanical properties of the materials could explain the differences in catch efficiency between biodegradable and nylon gillnets (Grimaldo et al, 2018a, 2018b, 2019, 2020)
5330 cod were caught during 18 deployments (DNO 1–18), with 2394 individuals caught in the biodegradable gillnets and 2936 cod caught in the nylon nets
Summary
Gillnets are among the most common fishing gears used in both developing and developed countries (FAO, 2016). These gears can be used in demersal and pelagic fisheries, from small artisanal boats to large industrial vessels. Gillnets are widely used in commercial fisheries throughout the North East Atlantic, especially by the coastal (and inshore) fleet. In Norway, the Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) fishery represents the most economically important single species fishery. Gillnets account for 24% of the national total allowable catch of Atlantic cod, which in 2019 was 327,648 metric tons (NDF, 2020). In 2019, the coastal fleet consisted of 5712 vessels smaller than
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