Tom’s fisheye bycatch reduction device

The Tom’s fisheye bycatch reduction device (BRD) uses a rigid metal frame with a cone-shaped insert and solid plate to create a small pocket of low pressure. This guides protected species and other small fish towards an opening in the net.

This BRD allows target species, such as prawns, to pass safely into the codend with minimal loss of product.

Refer to the Fisheries (Commercial Fisheries) Regulation 2019 for full specifications.

Otter trawl nets

Opening

• The opening must be held open by a rigid frame that consists of a hexagon-shaped external frame and a cone-shaped insert.
• It must be no more than 70 meshes from the codend drawstrings of the net.
• During trawling, nothing must cover any part of the opening.

Rigid frame

• The rigid frame must be installed so the apex of the V-shaped external frame points towards the mouth of the net. It must be at least 360 mm wide and 200 mm high.
• It must be attached by:
  • a rigid bar from the top midpoint of the hexagon-shaped external frame to the top midpoint of the cone-shaped insert
  • a rigid bar from the bottom midpoint of the hexagon-shaped external frame to the bottom midpoint of the cone-shaped insert.

V-shaped external frame

• The widest point of the V-shaped external frame must be equal to the width of the hexagon-shaped external frame and attached perpendicularly to the widest part of the hexagon-shaped external frame.

Cone-shaped insert

• The cone-shaped insert must be at least 340 mm wide, 85 mm high and 290 mm long.
• It must be attached by:
  • a rigid bar from a point on the left side of the cone-shaped insert, no more than 100 mm from the open end of the insert, to the left arm of the V-shaped external frame, with a gap of at least 20 mm between the insert and the frame
  • a rigid bar from a point on the right side of the cone-shaped insert, no more than 100 mm from the open end of the insert, to the right arm of the V-shaped external frame, with a gap of at least 20 mm between the insert and the frame
  • a rigid bar from the midpoint of the back of the cone-shaped insert to the apex of the V-shaped external frame, with a gap of at least 29 mm between the insert and the frame.
• There must be a gap of at least 94 mm between the top side of the hexagon-shaped frame and the top side of the cone-shaped insert.