Fig 1.
Ten trawl gear configurations included in the study that resulted from combining different SMP and codend designs considered.
MS: mesh size.
Fig 2.
Experimentally tested gears with the covers used to collect fish.
MS: mesh size.
Fig 3.
Sampling area and positions of the experimental hauls.
Positions for SMPTS and SMPTL are also included [23, 24]. We used “ggplot2” [55] (under version 3.3.5) and “rnaturalearth” [56] (under version 0.1.0) within the R statistical environment [57] (R version 4.0.4) for mapping.
Fig 4.
Arrows represent the delta comparisons carried out. Red circle indicates the reference gear design.
Table 1.
Selectivity parameters for hake and blue whiting for the different SMP and codend designs considered in the study.
Fig 5.
Length-dependent retention probabilities for hake.
Retention probability curves (black line) with corresponding CIs (grey bands) and experimental rates (black dots) for the different SMP and codend configurations for hake. Vertical dashed lines show the MCRS for hake: 27 cm. The number of individuals escaped (red lines) and retained (blue lines) by each design are also shown.
Fig 6.
Length-dependent retention probabilities for blue whiting.
Retention probability curves (black line) with corresponding CIs (grey bands) and experimental rates (black dots) for the different SMP and codend configurations for blue whiting. Vertical dashed lines show the minimum marketable size for blue whiting: 18 cm. The number of individuals escaped (red lines) and retained (blue lines) by each gear are also shown.
Fig 7.
Size selection treatment tree for hake.
Delta comparisons (blue boxes) carried out (represented by arrows), which include delta curves for each modification applied in the gear (black line) with its corresponding CIs (grey bands), are shown. Each step also includes selectivity plots (green boxes) showing: selection curves for the treatment gear design (black line) with CIs, baseline gear design (blue dots) and reference gear design (green dashed lines). Vertical red dotted lines correspond to the MCRS: 27 cm.
Fig 8.
Size selection treatment tree for blue whiting.
Delta comparisons (blue boxes) carried out (represented by arrows), which include delta curves for each modification applied in the gear (black line) with corresponding CIs (grey bands), are shown. Each step also includes selectivity plots (green boxes) showing: size selection curves for the treatment gear design (black line) with CIs, baseline gear design (blue dots) and reference gear design (green dashed lines). Vertical red dotted lines correspond to the minimum marketable size: 18 cm.
Fig 9.
Treatment tree of the population structure fished for hake with the different gear designs.
Includes the fished population structure (black line) for each gear design and CIs (grey bands) and the population structure fished by the reference gear design (SMPTS + CDD) (green dashed lines). Vertical red dotted lines correspond to the MCRS: 27 cm.
Fig 10.
Treatment tree of the population structure fished for blue whiting with the different gear designs.
Includes the fished population structure (black line) for each gear design and CIs (grey bands) and the population structure fished by the reference gear design (SMPTS + CDD) (green dashed lines). Vertical red dotted lines correspond to the minimum marketable size: 18 cm.
Fig 11.
Diagram of the exploitation pattern indicators for every gear combination and species following a traffic light system.
A to G rows show different fish populations. In the left side, population structures for hake (HKE) and blue whiting (WHB) are shown, with vertical dashed lines representing the MCRS of hake (27 cm) and the estimated minimum marketable size of blue whiting (18 cm). In the right side, the traffic light diagrams show the indicators values (%), with green indicating ‘satisfactory’ and red ‘unsatisfactory’.