• Journal of the Korean Society of Fisheries and Ocean Technology
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.106-115
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• 2013

A series of fishing experiments were carried out in the western coastal waters of Korea from May, 2006 to September, 2007, using gill nets of different mesh sizes (m=101, 121.8, 152.5, 176.8, and 191 mm) to determine the mesh selectivity of gill net for swimming crab, Potunus trituberculatus. The catch species was composed of swimming crab (87%), Thomas's rapa whelk Rapana venosa (5%), arthritic neptune Neptunea cumingi (2%), Japanese swimming crab Charybdis japonica (2%), marbled sole Pleuronectes yokohamae (1%), pen shell Atrina pectinata, ocellate spot skate Okamejei kenojei, and so on. The carapace length (CL) of each swimming crab caught in the experimental nets was measured. Sponge crab (egg-bearing female crab) was appeared from the end of June to August in the coastal waters. The master selection curve was estimated by applying the extended Kitahara's method. The selection curve showed that the gill nets of larger mesh size allowed more crabs of small carapace size to escape. The optimum value (CL/m) was 0.645 and the CL/m was estimated to be 0.301, 0.354, 0.391, 0.422, and 0.450 when the retention probabilities were 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5, respectively.