| French deepwater fish exploitation (500 m) began off the West coast of the British Isles in 1973. It further developed in the 1980s, and intensified in the 1990s. In 1997, the French fleet comprised 49 boats, and since 1995 has landed yearly about 19,500 t of deepwater fish species, of which, the grenadier Coryphaenoides rupestris (Macrouridae) has been the most abundant. Discard data were sampled on-board by observers on French high sea trawlers from 1995 to 1997. Eight species were identified as totally landed, 43 non-commercial species as totally discarded and only one, the grenadier, as both landed and discarded. The mean discarding rate by haul was 48.5% in weight, whereas the mean grenadier discarding rate was 21.2%; these rates increased with depth.... |
