Cod End Configurations in the Farne Deeps Nephrops Fishery, 2017

27 hauls were completed over 11 days of fishing trials in November and December 2017. The work, part of the Fisheries Science Partnership programme, compared catch rates of five different cod ends to develop an optimum construction for reducing small Nephrops catches. The trials were conducted in the Farne Deeps fishing grounds off the North-East coast of England.

Use Cases

• Comparing the selectivity of different cod end mesh sizes and twine thicknesses based on the described catch comparisons
• Analyzing the effectiveness of 2016 license conditions for Nephrops conservation in the Farne Deeps
• Modeling gear performance to reduce bycatch of undersized Nephrops
• Supporting evidence-based fisheries management decisions for the Nephrops norvegicus fishery

Strengths

• Data is based on 27 completed hauls from a dedicated 11-day fishing trial
• Focuses on a specific, regulated fishery (Farne Deeps FU6) with clear conservation objectives
• Compares five distinct cod end configurations with varying physical parameters

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment
• Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified

Provenance

Source

Government Digital Service, via the Fisheries Science Partnership (FSP) programme.

Collection Method

Chartered twin rig trawler Nimrod conducted fishing trials and catch comparisons.

Time Range

November and December 2017.

Freshness

Data collection occurred in late 2017; the dataset is a historical record of those trials.

Geography

Farne Deeps (FU6: IVb; ICES rectangles 38E8,38E9,39E9,40E8,40E9) off the North-East coast of England.