2 Main Types of Fishing Nets

Fishing nets are used to catch fishes from water. It is used by some people as a recreational activity, and for some people, it is their profession and a matter of bread and butter for them. There is a wide variety of fishing nets available in the market according to different kinds of fishes or also depending upon the target species with different configurations, designs, and materials.

Latest nets are generally made from synthetic filaments, such as monofilament nylon for gillnets, and multiple twisted or PE and plaited polymer fibers for seine and trawl nets. The upper edge of the net is fixed to a rope called the headline, float line, or cork line. Floats are linked to the cork line to give buoyancy.

The four major types of fishing nets are enlargement and gillnets, surrounding nets, seine nets, and trawl nets. Two of them are discussed below:

Gillnets and Enlargement Nets

Gillnets and entanglement nets comprise of a panel or multiple panels of net held vertically in the water column, either in interaction with the seabed or suspended from the aquatic surface.

Fish are captured in gillnets or entanglement nets in one of the following ways:

Gilled way

The fish tries to spin through one or more meshes; if it is unable to pass through, it becomes trapped behind its gill covers as it tries to go back out of the net.

Wedged way

The fish is strongly caught in the net around the body by one or more meshes.

Tangled way

The fish is trapped in the net by some portion of its body, such as protruding fins or spine.

Trawl Nets

Trawl nets are one of the most extensively used commercial fishing techniques internationally. Trawling is performed in different ways, in the rock bottom of water ranging from just a few meters to 1600 m. The structure of trawl nets is more intricate than the basic nets. This Polyethylene aqua net performs different specialized functions to catch the fishes correctly.