Fishing Gear

Surrounding Nets

A seine net is a very long net, with or without a bag in the centre, which set either from the shore or from a boat for surrounding a certain area and is operated with two (long) ropes fixed to its ends (for hauling and herding the fish). Learn more.

Purse Seines		For most of the situation, it is the most efficient gear for catching large and small pelagic species that is shoaling. Learn More
Lampara Nets		The lampara net is a surrounding net, shaped like a dust pan or a spoon Learn More
Ring Nets		A ring net is a surrounding net the form of which is intermediate hybrid between a purse seine and a lampara net: Learn More

Seine Nets

Beach Seines		A beach seine is a seine net operated from the shore. Learn More
Boat Seine - Purse Seines		A purse seine is made of a long wall of netting framed with a lead line of equal or longer length than the float line. Learn More
Boat Seine - Danish Seines		Target species are either scattered on or close to the bottom or aggregated Learn More
Boat Seine -Scottish Seines
Pair Seines		A bottom pair trawls is a cone-shaped net consisting of a body, normally made of two or four panels, ending in a codend and the net has lateral wings extending forward from the opening. Learn More

Trawl Nets

Bottom Trawler		A bottom pair trawls is a cone-shaped net consisting of a body, normally made of two or four panels, ending in a codend and the net has lateral wings extending forward from the opening. Learn More
Midwater Trawls		A midwater otter trawl is a cone-shaped net which is towed in mid-water Learn More
Trawl Net		The trawl nets are cone-shaped net (made from two, four or more panels) which are towed, by one or two boats, on the bottom or in midwater (pelagic). Learn More
Otter Twin Tails		This special rigging system for this particular gear was developed to increase the horizontal fishing area of the trawl and comprises two identical trawls ("twin") fixed together Learn More

Dredges

These are gears which are dragged along the bottom to catch shellfish. They consist of a mouth frame to which a holding bag constructed of metal rings or meshes is attached. Learn more.

Boat Dredges		These are gears consisting of a mouth frame to which a holding bag constructed of metal rings or meshes is attached. Learn More
Hand Dredges		These are small, light dredges consisting of a mouth frame attached to a holding bag constructed of metal rings or meshes. Learn More

Lift Nets

Lift nets are horizontal netting panels or bag shaped like a parallelepiped, pyramid or cone with the opening facing upwards which are submerged at a certain depth, left for a while, the time necessary for light or bait to attract fish over the opening, then lifted out of the water. Learn more.

Portable Hand Lift Nets		Portable hand lift nets are small lift nets operated by hand, often supported by ringed frames. Learn More
Boat Operated Lift Nets		Lift nets consist of a horizontal netting panel or a bag shaped like a parallelepiped, pyramid or cone with the opening facing upwards. Learn More
Shore Operated stationary lift nets		These lift nets, which can be relatively large, are usually operated from stationary installations situated along the shore, where the lifting system are sometimes mechanized. Learn More

Falling Gears

These are gears that are clapped down on the prey to be captured. Learn more.

Cast Nets		The cast net is a circular net which is casted from the shore or from a small boat, but, in general, in shallow waters, to catch fish by falling and closing in on them. Learn More
Cover Pots		Cover pots and lantern nets are used to cover fish on the bottom, in shallow waters. The fish which is trapped is taken through an opening in the upper part of the gear. Learn More

Gillnets

Gillnets and entangling nets are strings of single, double or triple netting walls, vertical, near by the surface, in midwater on on the bottom, in which fish will gill, entangle or enmesh. Learn more.

Set Gillnets		A set gillnet consists of a single netting wall kept more or less vertical by a floatlineand a weighted groundline. Learn More
Driftnets		Driftnets consist of a string of gillnets kept more or less vertical by floats on the upper line (headrope) and weights on the lower line (groundrope) (sometimes the groundrope is without weights), drifting with the current, in general near the surface or in mid-water. Learn More
Encircling Gillnets		Encircling gillnets are gillnets set vertical, in shallow waters, encircling fish. Learn More
Trammel Gillnets		A trammel net consists of two/three layers of netting with a slack small mesh inner netting between two layers of large mesh netting within which fish will entangle. Learn More
Fixed Gillnets		These gillnets are stretched between two or more stakes driven into the bottom within the inter-tidal area, along the cost. Learn More
Combined Gillnets-trammel nets		This bottom-set gear consists in two parts: - an upper one being a standard gillnet where semi-demersal or pelagic fish may be gilled and - lower part being a trammel net where bottom fish may entangle. Learn More

Traps

Traps, large stationary nets or barrages or pots, are gears in which the fish are retained or enter voluntarily and will be hampered from escaping

Pots		A pot is designed in the form of cages or baskets, small or large (with dimensions ranging from around half a meter to two), made from various materials (wood, wicker, metal rods, wire netting, plastic etc.). Learn More
Fyke Nets		A fyke net is a fish trap Learn More
Stow Nets		This is a stationary gear made from netting, usually in the form of a cone or pyramid. Learn More
Barriers, fences, corrals		This is a group of gears made of various materials (stakes, branches, reeds, netting, etc.), and they are usually installed in tidal waters. Learn More
Aerial Trapps		Jumping fish and gliding fish can be caught on the surface in boxes, rafts, boats and nets ("verandah nets"). Learn More
Stationary uncovered pound nets		Stationary uncovered pound nets consist usually of net walls anchored or fixed on stakes, reaching from the bottom to the surface. Learn More

Hooks and Lines

Vertical Lines		A vertical line consists of a line to which is attached sinker and one or several hooks. In commercial fisheries the lines have usually several hooks. Learn More
Set Long Lines		A set longline consists of a main line and snoods with baited hooks (occasionally unbaited) at regular intervals and which is set, in general, on or near the bottom. Learn More
Drifting Long Lines		A drifting longline consists of a mainline kept near the surface or at a certain depth by means of regularly spaced floats and with relatively long snoods with baited hooks, evenly spaced on the mainline. Learn More
Trolling Lines		A trolling line consists of a line with natural or artificial baited hooks and is trailed by a vessel near the surface or at a certain depth. Learn More
Pole and Line		A pole and line consists of a hooked line attached to a pole. Learn More

Grappling and Wounding

As in hunting, man has extended the range of his arm by using long-handled implements, which can be pushed, thrown or shot for killing, wounding or grappling fish or molluscs. Learn more.

Harpoons		These are gears for killing, wounding or grappling fish, whales and marine mammals. In its simplest forms the harpoons are built from a wood pole having a steel point with one or more fixed or movable barbs at its forward end. Learn More
Clamps		Clamps are well known in many parts of the world, especially for taking mussels out of the water without injury. Learn More
Rakes		Simple or modern complicated rakes may be employed to catch the desired aquatic prey. Learn More
Tongs		Objects may be taken from the water in uninjured condition by means of tongs that is with instruments provided with two tong-like clasps moving one towards the other. Learn More
Spears		The fishing spear in its simplest form is the fisherman's most primitive gear is known from prehistoric times. Learn More
Wrenching Gears		Many methods have been used for harvesting seaweed and other water plants. Learn More

Other Methods

Pumps		Pumps as fishing gear can be used only for the harvest of dense concentrations of small species (or cephalopods) not too far from the surface (but occasionally up to almost 100 meters). Learn More
Push and Scoop Nets		Push nets are scoop netsnets which are pushed, footing in very shallow waters or before a small boat. Learn More
Electrical Fishing		In addition to stupefying fish by mechanical and chemical means, it is also possible to narcotize them with electricity. Learn More
Drive In Nets		Fish can be caught by driving them into a fishing gear of any type. Most of them are caught also without driving, but in small quantitives. Learn More
Diving		This gear type includes the operation of gathering by hand or with simple hand implements with or without divingequipment. Learn More