Summer Flounder, Black Sea Bass, and Scup Mesh Selectivity Study

Goals and Objectives

The project goal is to determine the selectivity of multipe codend mesh sizes and shapes relative to summer flounder, black sea bass and scup retention. Objectives related to this goal are:

• Effectively determine the selectivity of 4.5 inch diamond, 5 inch diamond, 5.5 inch diamond, 6 inch diamond and 6 inch square mesh codends for all three species
• Determine if one or more of these mesh sizes effectively reduces the catch of juvenile summer flounder, black sea bass and scup
• Evaluate the current mesh size regulations relative to current minimum retention size of each of these three species
• Demonstrate what the potential is for a possible successful common mesh size to reduce discards
• Complete an applied experiment across a wide range of strata and conditions (statistical areas, depth, bottom type, etc) and reflective of the summer flounder, black sea bass and scup fisheries
• Validate these results for fishery managers and fishermen

Last updated June 28, 2023