The issue of bycatch from prawn trawls has attracted substantial attention in recent years and led to the application of various strategies designed to tackle the negative impacts that such wastage may have on coastal ecosystems. Perceptions that trawling damages the bottom or is wasteful have serious consequences for commercial fisheries measurable as recent political attention to, for example, Australia's east coast prawn industry. In response to growing public concerns, the Australian fishing industry has been pro-active in the application of gear modifications to improve selectivity for the targeted prawns and so reduce bycatches of unwanted individuals. Depending on the sizes and species to be targeted and excluded, this has mostly been achieved via changes to sizes and types of mesh used in the codend and/or the application of physical modifications, collectively termed bycatch reducing devices (BRDs). This makes sense as improved targeting results in better economic returns and decreased ecological impact leading to better public perceptions of commercial fishing.
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