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Crab Pot Design

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Crab Pot Design

Over the last several years, snow crab stocks around many parts of Newfoundland and Labrador have declined in abundance.  In an effort to reverse this trend, the FFAW has partnered with DFO, DFA, and the Marine Institute to design a pot that reduces the catchability of undersized and soft-shelled crab thereby reducing the mortality of crab that are caught and discarded in the fishery.

Phase I of the study was undertaken to improve the size-selectivity of the Japanese-style conical pot used in the Newfoundland and Labrador snow crab fishery.  Phase II of the study focused on fishing trials of the two most promising designs and completion of a report outlining the findings of the investigation.

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Dr. Erin Carruthers

Dr. Erin Carruthers is the Science Director and Senior Fisheries Scientist with the Fish, Food and Allied Workers Union (FFAW-Unifor), which is the labour union that represents the owner-operator fleet in Newfoundland and Labrador. The FFAW is committed to research and management that supports healthy oceans, fisheries, and coastal communities. Dr. Carruthers received her Ph. D. in Biology from Memorial University in 2011 followed by a postdoctoral fellowship with the Centre for Fisheries Ecosystems Research. Before coming to Newfoundland, Erin worked as a Research Biologist with Fisheries and Oceans Canada at the St. Andrews Biological Station. Her current research program is co-constructed with fish harvesters and includes research on coastal fishing communities, collaborative longline and trap surveys, and best practices for the avoidance, handling and release of unwanted catch.