Integrating seasonal spatiotemporal interspecies and habitat dynamics to identify and hindcast bycatch hotspots of the yellowtail flounder fishery on the Grand Bank

Gentile, Alessandra (2022) Integrating seasonal spatiotemporal interspecies and habitat dynamics to identify and hindcast bycatch hotspots of the yellowtail flounder fishery on the Grand Bank. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

A long-standing problem in commercial fisheries is the incidental catch of species that are not targeted by the fishery, called bycatch. Bycatch inflicts unnecessary mortalities and potential economic loss. An economically important fishery with bycatch is the commercial yellowtail flounder bottom trawl fishery on the Grand Bank of Newfoundland. My thesis aims to mitigate bycatch in the yellowtail flounder fishery by using novel spatiotemporal models to identify dynamic bycatch hotspots. In my first chapter, I provide an overview of the yellowtail flounder fishery. In my second chapter, I run seasonal multispecies spatiotemporal models to estimate interspecies bycatch relationships using habitat variables. In my third chapter I perform short term retrospective forecasts of these models to estimate bycatch hotspots relationships. By understanding the spatiotemporal dynamics of interspecies relationships with dynamic habitat covariates, and developing a retrospective forecast model, I provide a framework for future bycatch mitigation strategies to contribute to the sustainability and economic efficiency of this fishery.

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