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Effects of light emitting diodes on the escape of mulloway, Argyrosomus japonicus and other species from bycatch reduction devices in southeastern Australian penaeid trawls
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Effects of light emitting diodes on the escape of mulloway, Argyrosomus japonicus and other species from bycatch reduction devices in southeastern Australian penaeid trawls

Matt K. Broadhurst
Fisheries research, Vol.288, pp.1-13
08/2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fishres.2025.107479
Appears in  Recent Faculty of Science and Engineering Publications

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Abstract

Bycatch reduction Fisheye Grids Illumination Penaeid trawl Selectivity
Bycatch reduction devices (BRDs) have been mandated in most Australian penaeid-trawl fisheries, including those in New South Wales (NSW), where several options are available for fishers to exclude unwanted catches based primarily on size (‘mechanical-separating BRDs’) or behaviour (‘behavioural-separating BRDs’). In NSW diurnal estuarine-trawl fisheries (targeting school prawns, Metapenaeus macleayi) combinations of mechanical- and behavioural-separating BRDs can exclude most bycatch, but at certain times and locations there remain priority species of concern, including mulloway, Argryosomous japonicus. Here, the utility of adding green or blue light emitting diodes (LEDs) to the escape exits of a mechanical- (‘Nordmøre-grid’) and a behavioural-separating BRD (‘fisheye’) was investigated for improving species or size selection. Six green or blue LEDs had no effects on mulloway escaping from Nordmøre-grids, but four green LEDs precluded all from escaping through a fisheye. Other species significantly affected by LEDs included narrowbanded sole, Synclidopus macleayanus and largetooth flounder, Pseudorhombus arsius with greater catches of both (across all sizes) in green-illuminated Nordmøre-grids. However, catches of narrowbanded sole were not affected by green-illuminated fisheyes. Mean catches of the targeted school prawns were also consistently greater with illuminated BRDs, although the differences were not significant. While adding green LEDs to the escape exits of both BRDs will not benefit the exclusion of mulloway, future research warrants testing reduced bar spaces in the Nordmøre-grids to mechanically exclude more fish, but with green LEDs to potentially maintain catches of school prawns.

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