• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.145-153
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• 2014

The motion of the otter board on a trawl can affect the motion of trawl nets, and the motion of the codend can affect fish selectivity. Preliminary measurements of the tilt of bottom trawl gear were carried out to compare the tilts of the otter board and codend. The tilt of the otter board was measured by Vector and tilt at 1.5 m anterior to the end of the codend, and the middle upper panel was measured with a micro-DST-tilt logger. Tilt data such as yaw, pitch, and roll were analyzed by the fast Fourier transformation method and global wavelet and event analyses for the period or amplitude. The mean period ${\pm}$ standard deviation of the tilt in the otter board, $(5-6){\pm}2s$, was similar to the period of the codend, $(4-6){\pm}(2-3)s$, whereas the amplitude of the codend was greater than that of the otter board. The yaw and pitch periods were not significantly different between the otter board and codend, but roll was different. Furthermore, the tilt period frequencies of the otter board and codend were not significantly different. Accordingly, the tilt motion of the codend was mostly related to the tilt of the otter board.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.101-108
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• 2013

An active stimulating device (ASD) consisting of a net panel or ropes fluttering in the turbulence inside the cod end was effective in driving fish near the cod end to reduce juvenile by-catch. The fluttering characteristics of the rope and net panel were examined by video observations and analyzed for fluttering amplitude and period in a water channel and in field experiments with a bottom trawl. The amplitude ratio of the fluttering ropes or nets in the tank test increased with the fluttering index as the diameter of the twine, mesh size, flexibility, and flow velocity changed, whereas the period decreased with the above factors. In bottom trawl experiments, the range of mean depth difference in the fluttering net panel was 12-17% of the length of the fluttering net, and the period of depth difference or three-dimensional (3D) tilt was revealed, with shorter ones ranging from 2 to 6 s. The amplitude as depth difference and period from field measurements were similar to those of nets in tank experiments and also to the period of 3D flow velocity inside the cod end. These results could be used to design an ASD that could be used for to the cod end of actual towed fishing gear to reduce juvenile by-catch.