Tasks. The agreed work tasks was a follow-up of the previous survey conducted from 20 May to 2 June, and included the following: To conduct an acoustic fishing survey for small pelagic fish on the shelf; to conduct bottom trawling experiments for demersal fish, deep water shrimp and langostinos; and to test the availability of squid off the shelf with light and jigging. The hydrographic profiles run during the previous survey were to be repeated.
Survey plan. The allocation of survey effort between the different tasks and areas was based on the experience from the two previous surveys. In the trawl survey for langostino and deep sea shrimp on the slope depths at 300 m and more were omitted, but shallower parts of the shelf up to abt. 120m were included. Both day and night was used for this work whereas testing for crystal shrimp in the depth range 40 - 100 m was only done during nighttime. The swept area trawl survey for demersal fish inshore at 15 - 50 m depth was limited to daytime. A few tests were made in trawling for dart squid at intermediate depths in areas where good catches had been made in Survey II. Squid jigging was only tried with light at night.
Scientific staff : The following participated from the region:
Nicaragua: Manuel Perez, Leonel Martinez
Honduras: Luis Morales
El Salvador: Juan Ulloa, Orlando Villatoro
From FAO: Luis Villegas.
The scientific staff of IMR was: G. Sætersdal, O.
Alvheim, I. Svellingen and M. Dahl.
