Tangle net

Abstract: The Cowtail Stingray (Pastinachus ater) occurs across northern Australia, Papua New Guinea, West Papua, Indonesia, and parts of the Solomon Islands, where it lives in intertidal lagoons, reef flats and reef faces, sandy habitats and estuaries at depths of up to 60 m, although it prefers shallow water. This species is caught regularly in demersal tangle net, bottom trawl, longline, Danish seine and beach seine fisheries throughout its range. In the Arafura Sea, the Indonesian rhynchobatid fishery is very intensive and the level of exploitation is extremely high. Catches in inshore waters of the Arafura Sea have declined, and as a result these vessels have had to travel farther distances to sustain catches. This declining trend is likely to continue in future in the absence of management and because of continued, if not increasing, fishing effort. However, heavy fishing pressure in the Arafura Sea represents only a portion of this species' total range. It is considered common and the population appears to be healthy in northern Australia where fisheries are well-managed and effective gear modifications exclude large stingrays in prawn trawl fisheries. Furthermore, it occurs in some significant marine protected areas in Australian waters, including the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. On account of its status in Australian waters, which represents a large portion of its range, it is assessed as Least Concern.

Abstract: Tangle nets set in deep water on steep cliffs off the Philippine island of Balicasag have obtained numerous interesting species in recent years. A detailed description of the fishing gear and its use, as observed in Balicasag Island, central Philippines, is provided. Tangle net fishing has been shown to efficiently collect specimens from areas that cannot be easily sampled using conventional gear such as trawls and dredges. Tangle nets, therefore, can be used to complement other methods during marine biodiversity surveys.