Kratzer, Isabella Maria FriederikeBrooks, Mollie ElizabethBilgin, SabriOzdemir, SuleymanKindt-Larsen, LotteLarsen, FinnStepputtis, Daniel2025-03-232025-03-2320210165-78361872-6763https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fishres.2021.106088https://hdl.handle.net/11486/6617Bycatch of protected species, particularly small cetaceans, in gillnets is a worldwide concern. One hypothesis for this is that echolocating cetaceans entangle because they do not perceive conventional gillnets as impenetrable barriers, owing to the gillnet's faint echo. A gillnet modified for improved acoustical visibility was tested in a first pilot trial in a commercial gillnet fishery targeting turbot (Scophthalmus maeoticus) on the Turkish Black Sea coast. This study is the first demonstration of the viability of using a gillnet equipped with small acrylic glass spheres to reduce bycatch of harbor porpoises in a commercial fishery and provides the basis for full-scale sea trials of the gear in commercial fisheries through a power analysis. In these pilot experiments, the focus lied on the handling of the gear and identification of requirements for a full-scale trial, but results include promising bycatch data for an endangered echolocating marine mammal (Phocoena phocoena) and no reduction in catch efficiency of a bottom-dwelling, vulnerable species (Raja clavata).eninfo:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccessbycatchgillnet modificationPhocoena phocoenaturbot fisheryRaja clavataArticle24310.1016/j.fishres.2021.1060882-s2.0-85111295462Q2WOS:000690441900001Q2