Trawling bycatch in the Galveston Bay system

Abstract

The sampling efforts characterized in this report reflect efforts which address only the magnitude and composition of bycatch observed in trawls. Data were highly variable and continued characterization efforts would greatly enhance the estimation of magnitude and composition of bycatch species. In addition, bycatch mortality was not specifically examined in this investigation, thus mortality estimates cannot be calculated from these data. Mortality of individual bycatch species is likely affected by a wide variety of factors and merits further investigation. Other studies addressing bycatch should consider interactions of individual species and stock assessments of individual species to determine the proportion of bycatch species relative to individual baywide populations.