Developing the selective Net Grid trawl in the NE Nephrops trawl fishery 2015/16 - Fisheries Science Partnership

This work was carried out as part of the Fisheries Science Partnership (FSP) programme. The trawler Luc SN 36 was chartered for 14 days between October and December 2015 to undertake trials in the *Nephrops* fishery off the North east coast of England. The specific objective was to modify the incline panel and the escape hole of the selective Net Grid trawl design to enable retention of marketable fish while still minimising catches of unwanted fish. The Net Grid is made of a 4-panel box section inserted into a standard two-panel trawl into which an inclined sheet of netting is laced. On top of the box section in front of netting grid is a fish escape hole. The netting grid acts as a physical barrier and guides fish out of the escape-hole while *Nephrops* pass through the netting to the cod end.