Gulf of Lions mutable dog whelk trap fishery

 Overview 

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	SPECIES Mutable dog whelk, Nassarius mutabilis
	FISHING GEAR Basket traps

 

VOLUME OF LANDINGS :  100 tons in 2015

 

FISHING FLEET : around 60-65 french vessels

 

LANDINGS PORTS :

Leucate, Port-la-Nouvelle, Gruissan, Agde, Sète, Grau du Roi (Occitanie), Saintes Marie de La Mer, Port Saint Louis du Rhône (PACA)

 

Fishery

Mutable dog whelk is caught using basket traps. They are baited using pieces of fresh fish, set out in lines of around 50 traps on soft grounds, at a median depth of 7-8m, for between 24h and 48h.

The fishery operates in the Gulf of Lions, along the coasts of Languedoc-Roussillon and PACA.

The fleet that fish  for dog whelk are a small-scale fleet of polyvalent boats (different gears are used during the same voyage). Fishing is conducted year-round, except for some closed periods in spring and summer, instituted by specific prud’homies.

Pre-assessment results 

Results of the MSC pre-assessment, conducted using the precautionary principle (bar filled = benchmark achieved). Only some of the data is presented here. For a full listing of the results, please visit the Medfish website.

 

STRENGTHS	POINTS FOR IMPROVEMENT
Very selective gear Very low impact on threatened, endangered and protected species  Fishing activities limited through prud’homies régulations Ongoing scientific project: collecting data, study concerning species biology, testing management measures and adding value to the product	Little information about population biology and dynamics More information about fleet composition and fishing activities required Harvest control rules to be defined Incomplete data on landings

> Download this fishery factsheet 

> Read the pre-assessment report of this fishery 

> Read the action plan report of this fishery