Manual of methods of measuring the selectivity of towed fishing gears

The only manual currently available to fisheries scientists and technologists describing the methods of measuring the selectivity of fishing gears is that produced within the auspices of FA0 (J.A. Pope et al., (1975)).
It was largely based on the report of the ICES Mesh Selection Working Group, 1959-1960. It describes methods for measuring the selectivity of most types of fishing gear: trawl, Danish seines, gill nets and hooks. An expanded review of methods for measuring the selectivity of gill nets was then produced by J.M. Hamley, (1975).
The intervening years have seen many improvements to the experimental methods for measuring the selectivity of fishing gears and in particular towed gears. Improved understanding of the principles of the selection of fish by gears has now changed the list of parameters which are known to have a significant effect upon selection and need to be measured at sea. The recent development of new statistical models and, in particular, the increased availability of powerful computers have resulted in improvements in the analysis procedures for the data produced in experiments to measure a gear's selectivity.
It is the purpose of this new manual to update those sections, of the FA0 manual referring to methods for measuring the selectivity of towed gears. he work in preparing this manual has been carried out by a subgroup of the ICES Working Group on Fishing Technology and Fish Behaviour.