OBSERVATIONS OF FISH BEHAVIOR IN RELATION TO FISH POTS 



William L. High and Alan J. Beardsley 



Department of Commerce 



National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 



National Marine Fisheries Service 



Exploratory Fishing and Gear Research Base 



Seattle, Washington 



ABSTRACT 



During Mission I of TEKTITE II the authors conducted studies 

 of reef fish behavior near and within fishpots. The results 

 of this study have application to the Virgin Island pot 

 fishery as well as to an embryonic pot fishery for sable- 

 fish in the northeastern Pacific Ocean. 



Three pot designs were studied: (1) the typical Virgin 

 Island pot of chicken wire and wood strips, (2) an experi- 

 mental collapsible pot utilizing nylon web and an aluminum 

 frame, and (3) a commercially manufactured molded plastic 

 pot. 



The Virgin Island pot captured the greatest number of fish, 

 although they were generally smaller than those captured in 

 the collapsible experimental pot. The plastic pot caught 

 few fish. Numerous behavioral characteristics relating to 

 fishes within the influence of the pots were noted, 

 including territorial defense, social behavior, an.i 

 predator-prey relationships. Bait seemed to play a minor 

 role in attracting fish to the pots. 



OBJECTIVE 



The objective of our research from the TEKTITE habitat was to observe 

 the behavior of reef fishes to fish traps and to evaluate several 

 different pot designs on the basis of the number of fish and number of 

 species caught. This investigation has direct application to current 

 research programs being conducted by our Exploratory Fishing and Gear 

 Research Base in Seattle. At our Base studies are being conducted on 

 the utility of traps in the capture of commercial quantities of 

 sablefish ( Anoplopoma fimbria ) in waters of the northeastern Pacific 

 Ocean. Direct observations of sablefish by divers in these waters 

 is not possible because of the depths (100-500 fathoms) these fish 

 inhabit. This study also has relevance to the existing commercial 

 trap fishery for reef fishes in the Virgin Islands since little is 

 known about the efficiency of these pots and the behavior of fish to 

 them. Waters adjacent to the Virgin Islands are a particularly 



VI-4 



