Square-mesh codend length and selectivity in southeastern Australian stow nets

The relationship between the amount of square mesh in codends and selectivity was investigated for an Australian penaeid stow-net fishery. Three lengths (3, 2 and 1 m) of square-mesh codend made from 27-mm mesh hung on the bar were alternately tested with a conventional 34-mm diamond-mesh design during two covered-codend experiments. Compared with the conventional codend, the square-mesh configurations incrementally selected school prawns, Metapenaeus macleayi (Haswell) across narrower selection ranges (SR) and mostly at greater sizes at 50% retention (L), while retaining fewer fish. Irrespective of the mesh configuration or square-mesh codend length, there were significant differences between experiments (attributed to water flow) and impacts of catch weight on the selectivity of school prawns. Both variables had a negative relationship with L, while water flow similarly affected SR. This study reaffirms the utility of square-mesh codends as a key input control for managing the selectivity of penaeid-catching gears