Etude des rejets occasionnes par la peche artisanale francaise en Manche Ouest

Observers were set on board of fishing vessels from North Brittanny ports during one full year (1992-93). This study granted by EC Commission (contract CE/DGXIV-C-1 n° 1992/06) was a first approach for assessing French discards in the western English Channel. It identifies the main species discarded and produces a rough estimate of discard rates and size compositions in each métier targeting fish. The major reasons for variability were explained. Size compositions of catches and discards were provided in order to permit better estimates of the mortality induced by fishing operations. The fixed nets observed were large mesh nets (270 to 360 mm) targeting monkfish and small mesh nets (200 mm) targeting coastal resources. Netting was found to be more selective than trawling in species diversity and in the size composition (inter and intraspecies selectivity). An English large summary is provided at the beginning of the full report.