Preventing Bycatch of Yellowtail Flounder in the Sea Scallop Dredge Fishery By Dredge Pause: Video Evaluation

Bycatch discard mortality is a significant issue affecting U.S. marine fisheries.   Harvesting of sea scallops in the dredge fishery results in a bycatch of yellowtail flounder and 90% of these discards are assumed to die. A simple practice of pausing the dredge to allow escape of yellowtail flounder before or during haulback is practiced voluntarily by some scallopers that understand the risk associated with bycatch overage, but the practice is not widely adopted because of fear of scallop loss and lack of knowledge about its efficacy. The best practice with regards to timing and duration of pause has not been assessed. We videoed scallop dredge operations in situ and measured yellowtail flounder proportional escapement as a function of proportion of net fullness (scallops), timing of pause, and duration of pause, while also estimating scallop loss as a function of pause.  Preliminary results indicate that yellowtail flounder and other flounders can escape the scallop dredge containing sizeable scallop hauls during pauses; escapes are not common and need time; and longer pauses appear to be slightly more effective based on video evidence; and very few scallops were lost during hanging pauses.  Bottom pause is being evaluated.