Probably reduces catch of wanted fish by the same amount.
Can’t they just tear big holes in their nets and accomplish the same numbers? At least they wouldn’t have to buy the new, expensive nets.
The chinese don’t care. They want EVERYTHING in the nets.
The solution in the Puget Sound and Juan de Fuca salmon fisheries was to make the top 3 feet of 10 inch meshes.
Naturally the salmon running in the top 10 feet of the water column just went through the mesh significantly reducing the catch - particularly when red singing jelly fish were thick forcing the salmon towards the surface.
The combination of very large mesh and small 5-6” mesh made the nets a nightmare to get on and off gillnet reels.
In the fall, Seattle’s poorly treated sewage discharges causes horrendous algae blooms which cling to the nets forcing the fisherman to install pressure washing as the net comes in.
This still creates a sticky mess with the large mesh prone to tuck under the cork and lead lines causing backlashes which stop the setting of the net, tearing holes in it.
“Importantly, the study found no significant reduction in the amount of targeted fish caught.”