Bait type influences on catch and bycatch in tandem hoop nets set in reservoirs

Published source details Long J.M., Stewart D.R., Shiflet J., Balsman D. & Shoup D.E. (2017) Bait type influences on catch and bycatch in tandem hoop nets set in reservoirs. Fisheries Research, 186, 102-108.
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This study is summarised as evidence for the following.

	Action	Category
	Use a different bait type: Tortoises, terrapins, side-necked & softshell turtles Action Link

Use a different bait type: Tortoises, terrapins, side-necked & softshell turtles

A replicated, paired study in 2014 of 13 reservoirs in Kentucky, USA (Long et al. 2017) found that using soap rather than cheese as fishing bait in hoop nets reduced unwanted catch of turtles in a catfish Ictalurus punctatus fishery. Unwanted catch of all turtles in hoop nets was reduced with soap bait (7 turtles/net deployment) compared to cheese bait (11 turtles/net deployment). Turtle mortality was reduced with soap bait compared to cheese (data reported as statistical model outputs). Catch rates of commercially targeted catfish were similar between soap-baited (1,613 individuals) and cheese-baited hoop nets (1,429 individuals) although soap-baited nets caught larger catfish (344 mm average length) compared to cheese-baited (321 mm). In June 2014, four to six tandem hoop net combinations (three nets/combination, each 3.4 m long with 25 mm bar mesh and seven 0.8 m hoops) were deployed at <4 m depths in 13 reservoirs (70 total net deployments, two sampling periods). Nets were either baited with 800g cheese logs or 800g Zote © soap. Nets were fished for two days; all animals were removed and nets were then reset with the opposite bait and fished for a further two days. In total six turtle species were caught, of which three species (red-eared slider Trachemys scripta elegans, common musk Sternotherus odoratus and common snapping turtles Chelydra serpentina) were caught frequently enough to assess differences in mortality by bait type.

(Summarised by: Katie Sainsbury)