Seasonal Bycatch Variations in the Shrimp Beam Trawl Fishery of Coastal Wan-do, Korea

We examined shrimp and bycatch species composition in the shrimp beam trawl fishery off Wan-do, Korea(in the major or fishing ground)from December 2004 to November 2005. We observed a total of 103, 072 individuals in 96 taxa. By densities of individuals, 96.97% were shrimps, 1.20% decapods, 1.10% fish, 0.30% cephalopods and 0.43% other species. By catch weight, 57.29% were shrimps, 26.33% fish, 6.82% decapods, 4.64% cephalopods and 4.92% other species. In spring, the dominant bycatch species by biomass were Okamejei kenojei, Lophiomus setigerus, and Charybdis bimaculata. In summer, the dominant species were Charybdis bimaculata, Muraenesox cinereus, and Paralichlhys olivaceus. In autumn, dominants were Okamejei kenojei, Conger myriasler, and Sefipinna tenuifilis, and in winter they were Okamjei kenojei, Chaeturichthys stigmatias, and Sillago japonica. Bycatch species composition and individual species abundances differed significantly among seasons, probably indicating that variations were related to the life history characteristics of bycatch species. The diversity index was highest in October (2.797) and lowest in July (1.012). The July dominance index (0.569) was much higher than in other months; evenness was highest in September (0.856) and lowest in July (0.374). During the study period, the bycatch-to-shrimp ratio of this fishery varied from 0.063 in February 2005 to 11.031 in May 2005, with a mean of 3.363 These temporal variations may be linked 10 variations in reproductive behaviors and migration patterns of the marine animals sampled.