Eleven days of sea trials comprising 40 tows were successfully completed on
board the twin-rig otter trawler ‘Our Olivia Belle’ (BD277) in the Western
English Channel in August 2017 allowing catch comparisons of cod end mesh
sizes ranging from 48mm to 128mm stretched mesh with those of the standard
85mm stretched mesh. The main aim of the project was to evaluate the use of
larger cod end mesh as a means of selectively reducing catches of haddock in
the SW trawl fishery.
