Concern about the decline of finfish stocks off the Northeast coast of the United States, bycatch associated with small mesh trawls used in the northern shrimp (Pandalus borealis) fishery has received a lot of attention from fishery managers. During the past several years, gear related techniques have been investigated, and their performance evaluated with regard to bycatch reduction and shrimp retention. The Nordmore grate was found to be the most effective device evaluated. When properly installed in the gear it was successful in reducing bycatch by approx. 95% (by weight) without reducing shrimp catches. This work has prompted managers to require vessels fishing for northern shrimp to equip their trawls with a Nordmore grate as of April 1, 1992.