Pamlico County schools studied the effects of manipulating tailbag sizes in the estuarine crab trawl industry. The two major species of concern were blue crab and southern flounder. The use of a larger tailbag mesh size might substantially reduce the bycatch of sublegal species without making estuarine crab trawling economically impossible. Each tailbag received test tows during three seasons, which showed significant differences in the amounts and percentages of crab, flounder and other finfish caught. Bycatch of finfish other than sublegal southern flounder was almost nonexistent during winter and spring.
Bycatch reduction is a major concern in every fishery, and estuarine crab trawling is no exception.
While blue crabs are the primary species being sought, southern flounder are also economically important to the fishery during winter and spring. Other types of marketable finfish are sometimes caught incidentally to the target species and may be sold to increase the revenue. With adoption of a 4-inch tailbag, expect a 5 percent reduction of legal crab catch and no reduction of legal flounder. About 10 to 20 percent of sublegal crabs and 20 to 30 percent of sublegal flounder will escape the 4-inch tailbag depending upon the season. With a 4-inch tailbag, expect finfish reduction of 25 to 30 percent during the summer.