2026/07/14 by Adem Sezai Bozaoğlu, Ekin Akoglu, Ercan Ateş · 1 voice
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Environmental Science · #Fish Biology and Ecology Studies #Fish Ecology and Management Studies #Reproductive biology and impacts on aquatic species
paper · pdf · doi:10.3897/aiep.56.194083
openalex publication_date 2026/07/14 · openalex created_date 2026/07/15 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/19
Approximately 25% of annual inland capture fish production in Türkiye is from pearl mullet, Alburnus tarichi (Güldenstädt, 1814), which is an endemic species to the Lake Van Basin. Therefore, sustainable utilization of pearl mullet stocks in the basin carries utmost importance for the livelihoods of fishers and food provisioning in the region. Conventionally, fishery of pearl mullet is carried out with trammel and mono-filament gillnets. However, to date, the effectiveness of multifilament gillnets was not put to the test. Therefore, this study, which was conducted in Lake Van between September 2022 and April 2023, employed six sets of monofilament and multifilament gillnets with mesh sizes of 22, 23, and 24 mm to investigate the selectivity of gillnets comparatively. The nets were laid at depths ranging from 8 to 60 m, and 45 samples were collected. The SELECT method was used to calculate the selectivity parameters of the samples. The most suitable model for monofilament gillnets was the Normal Scale model, and the optimum capture lengths were 22.29, 22.75, and 23.18 cm. In multifilament gillnets, the most suitable model was the lognormal model, and the optimum capture lengths were 21.01, 21.99, and 22.24 cm. In both net sets, the month with the highest catch per unit of effort was April, with values of 83.32 kg/100 m/day in monofilament gillnets and 27.83 kg/100 m/day in multifilament gillnets. The results of this study indicated that the most suitable mesh size for pearl mullet fishing with gillnets in Lake Van is 24 mm. For pearl mullet fishery in Lake Van, the use of 24 mm monofilament gillnets compared to multifilament gillnets is recommended due to their high capture efficiency.