General course objectives
To introduce the student to the commercial fishing sector and the fisheries regulatory system and provide an understanding of the technical and biological principles behind the most important commercial fishing methods used. To understand both size- and species selectivity in fishing gear and how to assess both fish behavior and the mechanical aspects of selectivity. To develop design principles of fishing gear that meet the criteria for current and future management strategies for both biological and economical sustainable fisheries.
The course will specifically provide an in-depth practical experience in planning and conducting an at sea selectivity trial on DTU Aqua’s research vessel Havfisken. The students will critically evaluate the collected data, choice of analytical method, and modelling approach. Finally, the students will present the selectivity data in relation to current management strategy and available scientific literature as a scientific manuscript.
Content
This is a 10 days intensive summer course based in Hirtshals (Northern Denmark) in close proximity to the Danish fishing industry, research vessels and the facilities at the North Sea science park. The course will cover the main fish capturing methods, together with the underlying technological and biological principles. The effect of fish capturing process on the stocks, the product and on the environment will be described and discussed in relation to present and future management strategies for biological and economical sustainable fisheries. The design principle, innovations and development of fishing gears and methods, will be explained and demonstrated through lectures, excursions to net-makers, commercial fishing vessels and the Hirtshals trawl flumetank. Computer exercises will be used to demonstrate methods to analyze the selective properties of fishing gears.
The students will in groups plan and conduct an experimental selectivity sea trial. Each group will go one day onboard RV Havfisken testing a selective fishing gear in a twin-trawl configuration at sea. Each group will critically evaluate the collected data, analyze the data and present the data as a scientific draft manuscript that will make up the examination of the course.
Learning outcomes
A student who has met the objectives of the course will be able to:
- Describe the technical and biological principals behind the most important commercial fishing methods
- Explain size- and species selectivity and understand the role of fish-behavior and the mechanical part of the selection process in both active and passive fishing gears
- Describe drivers of discard, discard management and the fisheries technical legislation
- Describe ecosystem effects of commercial fisheries and critically evaluate different catching methods in terms of economical and biological sustainability
- Describe innovations in fisheries technology including specific gear developments, information based fishing strategies and SMART-Fishing technologies
- Plan scientific sampling strategy for experimental selectivity trails at sea
- Conduct experimental fishing and secure collection of strong data at sea
- Analyze experimental data by applying selectivity models and critically evaluate both data and modelling results
- Participate as member of a group in writing a scientific manuscript draft of the collected data
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