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¹ National Fisheries Research and Development Institute, Fisheries Engineering Division, 216 Gijanghaean-ro Gijang-gun Gijang-eup Busan, Republic of Korea DOI : 10.4194/1303-2712-v14_1_03 Viewed : 4750 - Downloaded : 4912 Gillnets and net pots are made of synthetic fiber as polyester (PE) and polyamide (PA). These are often lost by heavy weather or trawling of the active fishing gears. Lost gears result in the ghost fishing because these are non-degradable in seawater and damage to spawning grounds or habitats. To address these problems, biodegradable nets composed of aliphatic polyester were developed. This study describes four types of biodegradable net pots for capturing Octopus minor in Southern Korea, which is an area associated with high rates of net pot loss. The fishing performance of the biodegradable pots was compared to that of commercial net pots. The net pot with a synthetic body and biodegradable funnel (PE/Bio) produced approximately 50% of the catch collected using a commercial net pot (PE/PA). Conversely, net pots with a biodegradable body and a synthetic funnel (Bio/PA) produced the same amount of catch as the commercial net pot. The completely biodegradable net pot (Bio/Bio) caught 60% of that using the commercial net pot. These findings suggest that net pots consisting of a biodegradable body and PA funnel may be effective in capturing Octopus minor. Partially biodegradable net pots (Bio/PA) are as effective as commercial net pots, yet uniquely allows a method of capturing Octopus minor without affecting the marine environment. Keywords : Octopus minor, fishing, Southern Korea, gillnets