Codend selectivity in a commercial Danish anchor seine

• We developed a modified codend cover that functions at varying towing speeds.
• High proportions of fish enter the codend relatively late in the fishing process.
• Best performing models indicated that more than one selection process is at work.
• Selection factors of cod and plaice were higher than average values for trawls.

Danish seining (or anchor seining) is a fishing technique that is gaining increasing attention because it is considered to be a fuel-efficient fishing method with low environmental impact. However, scientific documentation of the selectivity characteristics of Danish seines is lacking, and the gear generally is grouped with bottom trawls and Scottish seines in fisheries management legislation. In this study, we developed a codend cover to estimate the selectivity of a standard commercial Danish seine codend for four fish species. The data for the dominant species, dab (Limanda limanda) and plaice (Pleuronectes platessa), was best described by models that combine two or three logistic models, which indicated that more than one selection process was at work. Selectivity of cod (Gadus morhua) was best described by a Richard curve and selectivity of red gurnard (Chelidonichthys lucernus) by a logistic curve. The estimated selectivity curve of dab indicated, contrary to cod and plaice, low retention of individuals below MLS. Confidence limits for larger length classes of cod and red gurnard were relatively wide. For plaice, the estimated selection factor, which is the length with 50% retention divided by mesh size, was comparable to literature values from trawl studies. The average value for cod was similar for Danish and Scottish seines, but lower for trawls. The results are discussed in the context of fisheries management with focus on the landing obligation of the new Common Fisheries Policy.