With the resurgence of pot fisheries, issues such as discards and mortality of bycatch species and sublegal-sized targets in decapod crustacean pot/trap fisheries have emerged as a central concern in the study of the ecological impacts of fishing. A comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms underlying the response behaviors of target species to pots and their components is critical for optimizing fishing performance, mitigating ecological impacts of the fisheries, and advancing sustainable fisheries management within an ecosystem-based framework.

This review initiates with an extensive retrieval of existing literature, systematically categorizing the sequential behavioral responses, from initial bait attraction through capture or escape, of individual or grouped decapod crustaceans to pots into six distinct phases: arousal, location and approach, entrance search, entry, inside the pot, and escape. A standardized quantitative index system is proposed to evaluate the density and intensity of behaviors at each phase. Then, utilizing these behavioral metrics, this review synthesizes the response mechanisms and behavioral patterns exhibited by the main decapod crustacean species in major global commercial pot fisheries. Comparative analyses are conducted to elucidate interspecific variations in behavioral responses to different pot designs, while identifying the principal factors influencing behavioral patterns for each behavioral phase. Furthermore, this review explores the potential applications of these findings in the optimization of pot/trap design, including bait, entrance design, structural features, and escape devices. Such insights have significant potential for reducing bycatch, mitigating ghost fishing effects, and guiding the development of ecologically sustainable, eco-friendly pot designs.

This review also addresses methodological challenges inherent in current research on decapod crustacean behavioral responses to pot/trap, particularly those arising from discrepancies in experimental observation techniques, phase delineation, and behavioral quantification methodologies. These challenges hinder a unified understanding of individual and collective behavioral patterns. By providing a critical evaluation of these limitations, this review additionally offers a conceptual framework and methodological insights for future research on marine organism behavioral responses to pot/trap, as well as for the development of pot/trap that aligns with the objectives of contemporary fisheries management and conservation strategies.