Catch composition of decapoda crustaceans from trawl fishery catches in the Central Mediterranean Sea

During the Spring 2001 a discard trawler survey, using commercial fishing boots, was carried out in the Strait of Sicily to estimate total commercial and discarded crustacean catches. The study area has been chosen because its representative of the major commercial fishing grounds. The sampling scheme of the study was based on the method of "stratified sampling in space" to obtain estimates of retained and discarded catch. This area has been divided in 7 sub areas, discard and commercial samples were collected by 14 samples boats, two for each area. The target commercial crustacean species were: Parapenaeus longirostris, Nephrops norvegicus and Aristaeomorpha foliacea. The results show that Parapenaeus longirostris dominate the Crustaceans catches of the central Mediterranean trawl fishery. The total discard crustacean catch in the whole area was 650 tons. The total discard and commercial catches of sub area 5 and sub area 7 were lowest and highest, respectively Considering the particular specificity of the fishery in the Strait of Sicily, measures to reduce the discard rate can be find by study and implementation of more selective gears and more appropriate minimum landing size regulation that discourage the fishermen to fish in place with a great concentration of juveniles.