Design and evaluation of a bottom-closing net used to capture mysids and other suprabenthic fauna

Abstract

A simple and easily constructed bottom-closing drop net was designed for capturing mysids during the day or at night. During the day, when mysids are epibenthic and (or) suprabenthic and difficult to sample quantitatively, the bottom-closing drop net captures more mysids per unit area than vertical hauls with a plankton net. The net works well on both hard and soft substrates and is useful for obtaining density estimates and delineating population distribution.