Asian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Research

The purpose of this research was to determine the most selective mesh size of gillnet fishing gear for Pampus argenteus in coastal waters of Pangandaran Regency, West Java. Research on the selectivity of gillnet fishing gear was carried out in the coastal waters of Pangandaran, West Java Province, from August 2018 to January 2019. The method used in this research is experimental fishing, namely operating gillnet fishing gear directly in the fishing area with fishermen. The primary data collected was the measurement of the catch (fish weight, number, fork length, how the fish was caught, circumference (girth opercullum, maximum body girth). Meanwhile, the secondary data collected were supporting data from the Pangandaran District Fisheries and Marine Service, and literature study. In determining the sampling, the method used is the purposive sampling method. The operation of gillnets using 4.5 inches obtained a higher proportion of main catch (75%) than gillnets with a mesh size of 5 inches (44%). Gillnet with a mesh size of 4.5 inches, the silver pomfret caught was distributed between 17-22 cm in size with the highest mode in the 19 cm fork length. Unlike the gillnet fishing gear with a mesh size of 5 inches, the silver pomfret caught was distributed in the fork length range of 17-25 cm with the highest mode in the length class 19 cm fork length. mesh size 4.5 inches has a hanging ratio value of 0.51. Meanwhile, the 5 inch mesh size has a hanging ratio value of 0.54. Based on the length distribution, gillnets with a mesh size of 5 inches were more dominant in catching silver pomfret in a larger size class interval than gillnets with a mesh size of 4,5 inches. Based on the L50 value, both selective gillnets caught more fish at 50% second chance. The selectivity curve shows that gillnet fishing gear with a mesh size of 5 inches has more selective results than gillnets with a mesh size of 4.5 inches.