Brown et al.: Simple gear modifications for bycatch reduction in a shrimp trawl fishery 
377 
Finfish excluder BRD options 
1 state fisheye (control) 2 state fisheyes 
1 federal fisheye 2 federal fisheyes 
Ricky BRD - 2 overlapping federal fisheyes with float 
Square mesh panel BRD options 
8.89-cm mesh; 5 meshes wide by 
12 meshes long 
Seam where TED extension (left) 
is connected to codend (right) 
TED bar spacing options 
7.62 cm 
10.16 cm (control) 
Other BRD options (in TED extension) 
Virgil Potter Composite panel with spooker cone 
Codend mesh size 
options (stretched 
mesh) 
3.81 cm (control) 
4.13 cm 
4.45 cm 
4.76 cm 
Figure 4 
Illustration of individual components (not drawn to scale) of modified shrimp trawl gears tested in Pamlico Sound 
and nearshore waters off North Carolina during 2015-2017. All experimental gears included a typical net body (not 
shown) and, from the options shown, a trawl efficiency device (TED), one or more bycatch reduction devices (BRDs), 
and a codend. The fisheye BRDs were diamond shaped with a square, 4-sided base. The areas of a single state fisheye 
and a single federal fisheye were 131 cm 2 and 258 cm 2 , respectively. 
(Helies et al. 14 ). The first federal fisheye BRD was installed 
3.05 m from the codend tie-off rings. A second federal fish¬ 
eye was installed 30 cm forward of the first federal fisheye, 
so that the aft of the forward fisheye touched the forward 
section of the aft fisheye. A 20.3-cm, hard plastic float was 
placed inside the codend, just forward of the tip of the 
most forward fisheye. The gear was tested and yielded less 
than satisfactory results; therefore, the trial was termi¬ 
nated. The next gear tested was designed with double fed¬ 
eral fisheyes placed in the position required by North 
Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries: the first fisheye 
14 Helies, F., J. Jamison, and B. Gallaway. 2015. Continued devel¬ 
opment and assessment of bycatch reduction devices within 
the southeastern shrimp trawl fishery, 36 p. Final report to the 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National 
Marine Fisheries for NOAA Award NA10NMF4540108 
(GSAFFI #115). [Available from Gulf and South Atlantic Fish. 
Found. Inc., Ste. 997, Lincoln Cent., 5401 W. Kennedy Blvd., 
Tampa, FL 33609.] 
was placed 68 meshes forward of tie-off rings, and the sec¬ 
ond fisheye was placed 5 meshes forward of the forward 
edge of the first fisheye. In addition, the codend mesh size 
was increased to 4.76 cm (Table 1, Fig. 4). 
Four gears were tested in 2016. The first gear was 
composed of 1 state fisheye and the Virgil Potter BRD 
(Table 1, Fig. 4). This gear consisted of a radial escape 
section constructed of 21.6-cm stretch mesh that was 
5 meshes long. A funnel constructed of 3.81-cm stretch 
mesh was also part of this design. The next BRD tested 
included 2 federal fisheyes in the state-required posi¬ 
tion (as described previously) and a 4.45-cm stretch 
mesh codend (Table 1, Fig. 4). The next BRD combina¬ 
tion tested included a reduced-bar TED, double federal 
fisheyes in the state-required position (as described pre¬ 
viously), and a 4.45-cm stretch mesh codend (Table 1, 
Fig. 4). The final gear tested in 2016 was the Virgil Pot¬ 
ter BRD with 1 state fisheye and a 4.45-cm stretch mesh 
codend (Table 1, Fig. 4). 
