Selectivity curves of pandora (Pagellus erythrinus, L. 1758) have been estimated in the area of the Montenegrin shelf (South Adriatic), for trawls with bar mesh sizes of 13.5, 16.1, 17.5, 22 and 35 mm (according to national legislation in Montenegro bar mesh size is measured from knot to knot which is, according to Commission Regulation (EC) No. 129/2003, stretched mesh size divided by 2). Although the existing national legislation prescribes that the minimum mesh size of the trawl be not smaller than 20 mm, trawls with forbidden mesh sizes are often used in this area. Results obtained showed that meshes smaller than 20 mm (13.5 mm, 16.1 mm, 17.5 mm) catch large numbers of immature individuals, since the length of 50% retention (L50%) for all these meshes is smaller than the length of fish at first spawning and which is, for Pagellus erythrinus in Montenegrin waters, approximate to 12 cm. L50% is longer than the average length of the first spawning only for nets with openings of 22 mm and 35 mm bar mesh size.