Gear Selectivity

J-Type Longline Hooks

An essential part of any age-structured stock assessment using commercial and recreational data on sharks collected with gillnets or longlines is an understanding of the selectity patterns of the fishing gear. Knowledge of the size selectivity of commercial and recreational gears is crucial to the management of fish populations because it allows the identification of those sizes of a target species that are most susceptible to the fishing gear.

Mending the Gillnet

The Shark Population Assessment Group is currently developing longline selectivity estimates. For gillnet selectivity estimates of small coastal sharks, see: Carlson, J.K. and E. Cort�s (2003) Gillnet selectivity of small coastal sharks off the southeastern United States. Fish. Res. 60:405-414.