Variations in Species Composition, Biomass, and Density in Shrimp Trawl Bycatch Across Seasons and Tidal Phases in Southern Korean Waters: Developing a Fisheries Risk Management Approach

We quantitatively investigated compositions of fish and invertebrate bycatch in Korean shrimp fisheries. We sampled shrimp trawl bycatch from 48 commercial trawls over 1 year. These samples contained 108 taxa from 50 families, with 60 fish taxa contributing 51.2% of the total biomass and 48 invertebrate taxa 48.8%. However, 86.32% of the total individual organism density comprised invertebrates, while individual fishes made up the remainder. Within the bycatch, two fish species varied in population size structure by season, suggesting recruitment is seasonal in these taxa. Overall general catch characteristics (total bycatch biomass and organism density) varied significantly by season and tide, and a significant interaction effect was observed (season×tide) on total density, but not on total biomass. The data collected will be used in designing a program of long-term bycatch monitoring.