A Pilot Gillnet Survey of the Cashes Ledge Closed Area
Project Leader:
Kevin Kelly,
Maine Department of Marine Resources
Additional Participants:
Mathew Thomson,
F/V Shearwater II, Monhegan Island, ME
"This project tests the use of gillnets to inventory fish populations in the Cashes Ledge Closed Area. Gillnets composed of panels of different mesh sizes are proposed as a sampling tool to effectively sample groundfish in a complex habitat, including species such as pollock that are not effectively sampled by otter trawls. The expected outcome from the project will be a sampling methodology using gillnets that will minimize damage to bottom habitat and sample a variety of species and habitats effectively. If this methodology is successful and additional funding is obtained, it may be possible to develop long term standardized measures of relative abundance of target species in closed areas in collaboration with the commercial fishing industry." (abstract from the proposal to the Northeast Consortium)
| Fieldname |
Description |
| species |
species of fish caught
| length | in mm
| date_local | date
| station | stations represent variations in bottom type and depth
| lat | Latitude in decimal degrees.
| lon | Longitude in decimal degrees. West is negative.
| depth_w | depth of water in fathoms
| substrate | what kind of bottom was it
| mesh_size | in inches