The effect of escape gaps of cylinder folding traps on fish catch at the coastal waters of Tuban Regency

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of the escape gap of cylinder folding trap on catch per unit effort (CPUE), trap rate, composition, and size of fish caught in the coastal waters of Tuban Regency. The research was conducted in November 2019 by deploying 60 units in ten experimental fishing trips at different locations. The traps were 20 units without escape gap, 20 units with an escape gap of 3 cm x 6 cm, and 20 units with an escape gap of 4 cm x 7 cm. Overall, the experiments resulted in a collection of 22 species of marine organisms, such as swimming crabs (33% of total weight), snails, shrimps, crabs, fishes (55% of total weight), and cuttlefish. The highest CPUE was found for the traps with escape gaps of 4 cm x 7 cm, i.e., 9.18 gr/trap/trip. There was no significant difference in the total catch, the weight of catches, trap rate, and catch per unit effort (CPUE) among the three types of traps.