3. Results
Similar variation patterns in structure were observed in the nets
set at both bottom types (Fig. 2): within the first few weeks after
deployment net height decreased sharply and then gradually until
it finally stabilised near the bottom, this occurring faster in the nets set in the sandy bottom. When nets were set they were not
fully stretched and, therefore, the distance between the leadline
and the headline never reached the maximum net height, which
was particularly evident in the patterns displayed by rocky bottom
nets in the first days of scuba diving survey, since these nets were
trapped in rocks (Fig. 2). There was little net movement, except at
one of the fixed ends of rocky bottom net, which probably was lifted
accidentally or deliberately by fishermen