1. Overall gillnet fishing procedures should be addressed to 

 minimize net loss. 



2. If a given degree of net loss (to be determined) appears 

 unavoidable within the gillnet fishery then the use of 

 biodegradable floats should be mandated. Floats on the 

 gillnet maintain the verticle profile of the net and thus 

 its continued fishing in a ghost mode. 



3. Retrieval of ghost nets, given the manner in which they 

 are fixed to the bottom, would be a very difficult and 

 costly procedure. 



LITERATURE CITED 



Collins, J.W. 1882. Gillnets in the cod fishery: A description 



of the Norwegian cod nets, with directions for their use and a 

 history of their introduction into the United States. Bull . 

 U.S. Fish. Comm . , Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 1: 1-17. 



Kawamura, G. 1972. Gillnet mesh selectivity curve developed from 

 length-girth relationship. Bull . Jap. Soc. Sci . Fish. , Vol. 

 38, No. 3, pp. 1119-1127. 



Stewart, Peter A.M. 1987. The selectivity of slackly hung cod 



gillnets constructed from three different types of twine. J. 

 Cons. Int. Explor. Mer. , Vol. 43, No. 4, pp. 189-193. 



Way, Eric W. 1977. Lost gillnet (ghost net) retrieval project. 

 1976. Industrial Development Branch, Newfoundland Region, 

 Canada. February, 1977, pp. 1-27. 



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ft US GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1989- 232-684 00127 



