What can be expected of a T90 extension piece to improve selectivity in bottom trawl multispecific fisheries in the Bay of Biscay?

In the Bay of Biscay, the selective properties of otter trawls have mainly been studied with regard to single species. However, for bottom trawl multispecific fisheries targeting fish, it remains challenging to find a selective device capable of limiting catches of small individuals of several species without commercial losses. The present study focuses on an innovative technical solution to reduce catches of undersized individuals in a multispecies bottom trawl fishery in the Bay of Biscay. We tested a cylinder made of 100-mm diamond meshes turned at 90°, namely T90 inserted in the extension piece. We present the selectivity results obtained for six commercial species. This device allows the escape of small Solea solea, Trachurus trachurus and Spondyliosoma cantharus individuals. No commercial losses of Sepia officinalis were recorded. Patterns for Dicentrarchus labrax and Mullus surmuletus require further investigation due to limited fish size ranges in the dataset.