The influence of some netting material properties on PA codend size selectivity of Mediterranean bottom trawl

In Italy the minimum mesh size of trawl codends is fixed at 40 mm stretch by the Regulation (EC) 1626/94, therefore the capture of undersized fish and discar ds are significant. Peak effort in the Adriatic bottom trawl fishery coincides with large concentrations of juvenile whiting, red mullet, poor cod, hake and blue whiting on the fishing grounds. Consequentially, large numbers of these fish are discarded as too small even for Mediterranean consumers. Improvement of trawl net selectivity is therefore of prime importance.