Using light to improve cod selectivity in North Sea Nephrops trawl gears (CodSELect) - Research vessel sea trials (0723A) dataset https://portal.medin.org.uk/portal/start.php?tpc=012_Marine_Scotland_FishDAC_12493 The reported sea trials are part of the FISP funded CodSELect project. Apart from the current trials, the project involves a number of controlled laboratory tank trials conducted in the Marine Directorate’s facilities in the Marine Laboratory in Aberdeen as well as sea trials on board the chartered commercial fishing vessel Westro PD20. The trials took place on the Marine Directorate’s MRV Alba Na Mara between 18-30 May 2023 and were restricted to the East of Shetland, (majority of hauls between NE of Lerwick and SE of Fetlar island) due to weather conditions. The objective was to investigate whether artificial light can influence fish behaviour, with main focus on cod, and enhance escape through a square mesh panel (SMP) on the top panel of a SELTRA sorting box in the extension of the trawl. Instrumentation was monitoring turbidity and light levels. No significant differences in length effects and relative catch rates were observed for any of the analysed species. 20240207