Prawn Fishery in Gokova Bay (Aegean Sea)

Abstract

This study reports the results of coastal prawn fishery in Gokova Bay (Aegean Sea) between April 2008 and November 2009. Thirteen boats are fished the caramote prawn (Melicertus kerathurus, Forskal, 1775) in Gokova Bay. All of the boats are between 6.8-9 meters in length, 7-30 hp in engine power. All of the boats were made of wooden material. The total catch was 113.53 kg during ten sampling surveys. Thirty-four species belonging to 27 families (except target species M. kerathurus) were determined. Sardinella aurita, Mugil spp., Pagellus erythrinus were dominant by-catch species in the prawn fishery. Mean CPUE was calculated as 1.44 +/- 0.67 kg./1000 m of net. Fishing effort and CPUE were recorded in rather low values.