Industrial survey for associated species: Results of a pilot-year

Abstract

To increase scientific knowledge and stimulate discussion on management of data-limited species, Ekofish Group B.V., the North Sea Foundation (NSF) and IMARES started a research project. This project consisted of two phases. In the first phase, IMARES and NSF performed a literature study on the constrains in management and biological knowledge for species selected by Ekofish. After phase one, Ekofish Group B.V. requested IMARES to set up an industrial survey to gather more information on turbot, brill and lemon sole. A pilot-survey was designed and performed for these species to test whether an industrial survey is feasible and valuable for biological knowledge and if so, how this survey should be designed. To test the design of the survey, research will be done on the haul duration and mesh size. To examine the added value of the pilot survey, results are compared with the BTS. In this report, the results of this pilot survey are presented and answer will be given to the following research question: “Is an industrial survey for turbot, bill and lemon sole feasible and does it increase knowledge with respect to scientific surveys?