October 3, 2014 — Not catching fish is more complicated than catching them these days, but UMass Dartmouth Professor Pinnguo is hoping to change that with new gear he is developing.
He, who works at the School for Marine Science and Technology, recently received a $205,000 grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Marine Service to help develop a bottom trawl that would avoid catching heavily regulated flounder.
"We looked at fish behavior and how they react when they are approached by fishing gear and now are confident our gear can distinguish between the species," He said.
Trawls for groundfish have two major components: the net, which catches the fish, and large metal doors that spread the net open horizontally.
Regular bottom trawls drag the net, weighed down by the multi-ton doors, along the seabed floor. In doing this, they trap fish indiscriminately, simultaneously catching the desirable haddock and prying up flounder and skates that fishermen either don't want or can't take due to fishing regulations.
He's idea to change the trawl is fairly simple. His new design slightly changes the size and hydrodynamics of the trawl doors so they can float just above the seabed, not dragging on it. If all goes well, the trawl will still catch haddock but will dig up fewer flounder and have less of an environmental impact on the seabed itself.
Read the full story from the New Bedford Standard-Times