Editing Fishing net

{{Short description|Net used for fishing}}
{{redirect|Fish net||Fishnet (disambiguation)}}
{{redirect|Trammel net|the dark pattern|Dark pattern#Roach motel}}
[[File:A fishing net in Brandon Creek - geograph.org.uk - 921094.jpg|thumb|300px|right|[[Nylon]] fishing net with float line attached to small plastic [[#float|float]]s]]

A '''fishing net''' or '''fish net''' is a [[net (device)|net]] used for [[fishing]]. Fishing nets work by serving as an improvised [[fish trap]], and some are indeed rigged as traps (e.g. [[#Fyke nets|fyke nets]]). They are usually wide open when deployed (e.g. by [[casting (fishing)|casting]] or [[trawling]]), and then close off when retrieved to engulf and trap [[fish]] and other [[aquatic animal]]s that are larger than the holes/gaps of the net, as well as many unwanted [[bycatch]]es due to the underwater area a net can cover.

Fishing nets are usually [[mesh]]es formed by [[knot]]ting a relatively thin thread, and early nets were woven from [[grass]]es, [[vine]]s, [[flax]]es and other [[fiber crop]] material, while later [[woven]] [[cotton]] was used. Modern nets are usually made of artificial [[polyamide]]s like [[nylon]], although nets of organic polyamides such as [[wool]] or [[silk]] thread were common until recently and are still used.

==History==
[[File:AntreaNet.jpg|thumb|Pieces of the [[Antrea Net]], 8,300 BC, the oldest-known fishing net]]
[[File:Astyanax vs Kalendio mosaic.jpg|thumb|right|A ''[[retiarius]]'' ("net fighter"), with a [[trident]] and cast net, fighting a ''[[secutor]]'' (mosaic, 4th century BC)]]
[[File:FusaioleCucuteni.JPG|thumb|right|[[Cucuteni–Trypillia culture|Cucuteni-Trypillian]] ceramic weights]]
{{see also|History of fishing}}

Fishing nets have been used widely in the past, including by stone age societies. The oldest known fishing net is the [[net of Antrea]], found with other fishing equipment in the [[Karelia]]n town of [[Antrea]], [[Grand Duchy of Finland|Finland]], in 1913. The net was made from [[willow]], and dates back to 8300 BC.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://tuhat.halvi.helsinki.fi/portal/en/publications/the-palaeoenvironme(878befb8-bd10-4bee-bc01-5038caeadfff).html|title=The palaeoenvironment of the Antrea Net Find |journal= Karelian Isthmus | publisher=Finnish Antiquarian Society|date=2008|pages=71–87 |last1=Miettinen |first1=Arto |last2=Sarmaja-Korjonen |first2=Kaarina |last3=Sonninen |first3=Eloni |last4=Junger |first4=Högne |last5=Lempiäinen |first5=Terttu |last6=Ylikoski |first6=Kirsi |last7=Mäkiaho |first7=Jari-Pekka |last8=Carpelan |first8=Christian |last9=Jungner |first9=Högne |isbn=9789519057682 }}</ref> Recently, fishing net sinkers from 27,000 BC were discovered in Korea, making them the oldest fishing implements discovered, to date, in the world.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://m.phys.org/news/2018-08-world-oldest-fishing-net-sinkers.html|title=Cast from the past: World's oldest fishing net sinkers found in South Korea|website=m.phys.org}}</ref> The remnants of another fishing net dates back to the late [[Mesolithic]], and were found together with sinkers at the bottom of a former sea.<ref>Kriiska, Aivar (1996) [http://webdoc.sub.gwdg.de/ebook/o/2004/ethesis.helsinki.fi/julkaisut/hum/kultt/vk/kriiska/tekstid/02.html "Stone age settlements in the lower reaches of the Narva River, north-eastern Estonia"] ''Coastal Estonia: Recent Advances in Environmental and Cultural History''. PACT 51. Rixensart. Pages 359–369.</ref><ref>Indreko R (1932) [http://erb.nlib.ee/?kid=15742222 "Kiviaja võrgujäänuste leid Narvas"] (Stone Age find of fishing net remnants), in ''Eesti Rahva Muuseumi Aastaraamat'' VII, Tartu, pp. 48–67 (in Estonian).</ref> Some of the oldest [[rock carvings at Alta]] (4200–500 BC) have mysterious images, including intricate patterns of horizontal and vertical lines sometimes explained as fishing nets. American Native Indians on the [[Columbia River]] wove [[seine net]]s from spruce root fibers or wild grass, again using stones as weights. For floats they used sticks made of cedar which moved in a way which frightened the fish and helped keep them together.<ref name=Smith>Smith, Courtland L [http://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/seine_fishing/ Seine fishing] ''Oregon Encyclopedia''. Retrieved 23 March 2012.</ref> With the help of large canoes, pre-European [[Māori people|Maori]] deployed seine nets which could be over one thousand metres long. The nets were woven from green flax, with stone weights and light wood or gourd floats, and could require hundreds of men to haul.<ref>Meredith, Paul [http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/te-hi-ika-maori-fishing/2 "Te hī ika – Māori fishing"] ''Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand''. Updated 2 March 2009.</ref>

Fishing nets are well documented in antiquity. They appear in Egyptian tomb paintings from 3000 BC. In ancient Roman literature, [[Ovid]] makes many references to fishing nets, including the use of cork floats and lead weights.<ref>Radcliffe W (1926) [https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/118679# ''Fishing from the Earliest Times''] John Murray, London.</ref><ref name=Johnson1999>Johnson WM and Lavigne DM (1999) [http://www.monachus-guardian.org/library/mededelingen35_2008a.pdf ''Monk Seals in Antiquity'']{{dead link|date=April 2019|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} Fisheries, pp. 48–54. Netherlands Commission for International Nature Protection.</ref><ref>Gilroy, Clinton G (1845) [http://www.ebooksread.com/authors-eng/clinton-g-gilroy/the-history-of-silk-cotton-linen-wool-and-other-fibrous-substances-includin-rli/page-44-the-history-of-silk-cotton-linen-wool-and-other-fibrous-substances-includin-rli.shtml "The history of silk, cotton, linen, wool, and other fibrous substances: including observations on spinning, dyeing and weaving"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201081023/http://www.ebooksread.com/authors-eng/clinton-g-gilroy/the-history-of-silk-cotton-linen-wool-and-other-fibrous-substances-includin-rli/page-44-the-history-of-silk-cotton-linen-wool-and-other-fibrous-substances-includin-rli.shtml |date=2017-12-01 }} pp. 455–464. Harper & Brothers, Harvard University.</ref> Pictorial evidence of [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] fishing comes from [[mosaic]]s which show nets.<ref>[http://museum.agropolis.fr/english/pages/expos/aliments/poissons/images/mosaique.htm Image of fishing illustrated in a Roman mosaic] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717033618/http://museum.agropolis.fr/english/pages/expos/aliments/poissons/images/mosaique.htm |date=2011-07-17 }}.</ref> In a parody of fishing, a type of [[gladiator]] called [[retiarius]] was armed with a [[trident]] and a [[Net casting|cast net]]. He would fight against a [[secutor]] or the [[murmillo]], who carried a short sword and a helmet with the image of a fish on the front.<ref>Auguet, Roland [1970] (1994). ''Cruelty and Civilization: The Roman Games''. London: Routledge. {{ISBN|0-415-10452-1}}.
</ref> Between 177 and 180 the Greek author [[Oppian]] wrote the ''Halieutica'', a didactic poem about fishing. He described various means of fishing including the use of nets cast from boats, scoop nets held open by a hoop, and various traps "which work while their masters sleep". Here is Oppian's description of fishing with a "motionless" net:
<blockquote>
The fishers set up very light nets of buoyant flax and wheel in a circle round about while they violently strike the surface of the sea with their oars and make a din with sweeping blow of poles. At the flashing of the swift oars and the noise the fish bound in terror and rush into the bosom of the net which stands at rest, thinking it to be a shelter: foolish fishes which, frightened by a noise, enter the gates of doom. Then the fishers on either side hasten with the ropes to draw the net ashore.
</blockquote>

In [[Norse mythology]] the sea giantess [[Rán]] uses a fishing net to trap lost sailors. References to fishing nets can also be found in the [[New Testament]].<ref>[[Gospel according to Luke|Luke]] 5:4-6; [[Gospel according to John|John]] 21:3-7a</ref> Jesus Christ was reputedly a master [[Miraculous catch of fish|in the use of fishing nets]]. The tough, fibrous inner bark of the pawpaw was used by [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native Americans]] and [[settler]]s in the [[Midwestern United States|Midwest]] for making [[rope]]s and fishing nets.<ref name=Werthner>{{cite book|last=Werthner|first=William B.|title=Some American Trees: An intimate study of native Ohio trees|year=1935|publisher=The Macmillan Company|location=New York|pages=xviii + 398 pp}}</ref><ref name=Bilton>{{cite web|last=Bilton|first=Kathy|title=Pawpaws: A paw for you and a paw for me|url=http://www.fred.net/kathy/pawpaws.html|access-date=21 July 2011}}</ref> The archaeological site at [[León Viejo (archaeological site)|León Viejo]] (1524–1610) has fishing net artifacts including fragments of pottery used as weights for fishing nets.{{Citation needed|date=March 2021}}

Fishing nets have not evolved greatly, and many contemporary fishing nets would be recognized for what they are in Neolithic times. However, the [[fishing line]]s from which the nets are constructed have hugely evolved. [[Fossil]]ised fragments of "probably two-ply laid rope of about 7 mm diameter" have been found in one of the caves at [[Lascaux]], dated about 15,000 [[Before Christ|BC]].<ref name="histsci14">J.C. Turner and P. van de Griend (ed.), ''The History and Science of Knots'' (Singapore: World Scientific, 1996), 14.</ref> Egyptian rope dates back to 4000 to 3500 BC and was generally made of water reed fibers. Other rope in antiquity was made from the fibers of [[date palm]]s, [[flax]], [[grass]], [[papyrus]], [[leather]], or animal hair. Rope made of [[hemp]] fibres was in use in China from about 2800 BC.{{Citation needed|date=March 2021}} 

In modern times, hemp was almost the only material in large scale use in fishing gear until 1900 when it found competition from cotton. By 1950s cotton had taken over a large fraction of fishing nets, although hemp nets were still in use in large quantities.<ref name ="norwegian"/> The first nylon fishing nets emerged in Japan in 1949 (although tests of similar equipment were taking place around the world in the last years of the 1940s). In the 1950s they were adopted worldwide, replacing nets made from cotton or hemp that were used before. The introduction of synthetic fibres in fishing gear from around 1950 changed a way of using natural materials that goes back several thousands of years. In the following decades (for example in Norway in 1975, 95% of all fishing gear was made of synthetic fibre), the new synthetic materials conquered the hegemony in net fishing.<ref name ="norwegian">Martinussen, Atle Ove (2006) [https://www.marecentre.nl/mast/documents/MAST_Vol_5_1_p29-44.pdf "Nylon Fever: Technological Innovation, Diffusion and Control in Norwegian Fishery during the 1950s"] ''MAST'', '''5'''(1): 29–44.</ref>

{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" style="text-align: left;"
|-
! width="400px" | Fishing nets in the past
|-
|{{multiple image
 | align = left
 | direction = horizontal
 | header            = 
 | header_align      = center
 | caption_align = center
 | image1    = AntreaNet.jpg
 | width1    = 125
 | caption1  = Fragments from the [[net of Antrea]] 8300 BC
 | image2    = 36-pesca,Taccuino Sanitatis, Casanatense 4182..jpg
 | width2    = 174
 | caption2  = ''[[Tacuinum sanitatis]] casanatensis'', Baghdad, 14th century
 | image3    = Albrecht Dürer - Wunderbare Errettung eines ertrunkenen Knaben aus Bregenz.jpg
 | width3    = 242
 | caption3  = [[Albrecht Dürer]] c. 1490-1493
 | image4    = Hdgs Fishing.gif
 | width4    = 305
 | caption4  = Medieval Scandinavian [[ice fishing]] technique 1555
}}

{{clear}}

{{multiple image
 | align = left
 | direction = horizontal
 | header            = 
 | header_align      = center
 | caption_align = center
 | image1    = Fischer-1568.png|
 | width1    = 200
 | caption1  = Fisherman with net and trap in Germany, 1568
 | image2    = The fisherfolks at Chinese Fishing Nets.jpg
 | width2    = 216
 | caption2  = The [[Chinese fishing nets]] of [[Fort Cochin]], India (depiction from the 1840s)
 | image3    = Wd b172.JPG
 | width3    = 189
 | caption3  = Crab fishing, 1891–1895
 | image4    = Salmon fishing with large loop nets by Native Americans2.jpg
 | width4    = 226
 | caption4  = Native American fishing salmon with loop net 1938
}}
|}
{{clear}}

==Types==
{{More citations needed section|date=February 2021}}
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width:100%;"
|-
! Type
! class="unsortable"| Image
! Target fish
! Description
! Environmental impact
|-
| [[Bottom trawling|Bottom trawl]]
| [[File:Trawling Drawing.jpg|140px]]
| [[Demersal fish]] such as [[groundfish]], [[cod]], [[squid]], [[halibut]] and [[Sebastidae|rockfish]]
| A trawl is a large net, conical in shape, designed to be towed along the sea bottom. The trawl is pulled through the water by one or more boats, called [[Commercial trawler|trawlers]] or draggers. The activity of pulling the trawl through the water is called trawling or dragging.
| Bottom trawling results in a lot of bycatch and can damage the sea floor. A single pass along the seafloor can remove 5 to 25% of the seabed life.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.deh.gov.au/soe/2001/coasts/coasts05-6.html#changestobenthic |title=Australia State of the Environment Report 2001 - Coasts and Oceans Theme Report: Fisheries (Impacts of wild fish harvesting activity) |access-date=2012-05-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060909080154/http://deh.gov.au/soe/2001/coasts/coasts05-6.html#changestobenthic |archive-date=2006-09-09 |url-status=dead }}</ref> A 2005 report of the [[UN Millennium Project]], commissioned by UN Secretary-General [[Kofi Annan]], recommended the elimination of bottom trawling on the high seas by 2006 to protect [[seamount]]s and other ecologically sensitive habitats. In mid-October 2006, US President Bush joined other world leaders calling for a [[Moratorium (law)|moratorium]] on deep-sea [[trawling]].

|-
| [[Cast net]]
| [[File:Payallarfishing.jpg|140px]]
| [[Shoaling and schooling|Schooling]] and other small fish
| Cast nets (throw nets) are small round nets with weights on the edges which are thrown by the fisher. Sizes vary up to about four metres in diameter. The net is thrown by hand in such a manner that it spreads out on the water and sinks. Fish are caught as the net is hauled back in.<ref>[http://www.nccoastalfishing.com/index.htm?casting.htm~main Casting net] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227141419/http://www.nccoastalfishing.com/index.htm?casting.htm~main |date=2021-02-27 }}.</ref>
| High discrimination possible. Non targeted fish can be released unharmed.
|-
| [[Coracle|Coracle net fishing]]
| [[File:Coracles River Teifi.jpg|140px]]
| 
| [[Coracle|Coracle fishing]] is performed by two people, each seated in a coracle, plying their paddle with one hand and holding a shared net with the other. When a fish is caught, each hauls up their end of the net until the two coracles are brought to touch and the fish is secured.
|
|-
| {{vanchor|Dragnet}}
| [[File:Salmon Netting below Paxton House - geograph.org.uk - 216572.jpg|140px]]
| 
| This is a general term which can be applied to any net which is dragged or hauled across a river or along the bottom of a lake or sea. An example is the [[seine net]] shown in the image. The fishing depth of this net can be adjusted by adding weights to the bottom.
| 
|-
| [[Drift net]]
| [[File:Gill net hauled in over a power-driven drum.jpg|140px]]
| 
| The [[drift net]] is a net that is not anchored, but is drifting with the current. It is usually a gill or tangle net, and is commonly used in the coastal waters of many countries. Its use on the high seas is prohibited, but still occurs.
| 
|-
| {{vanchor|Drive-in net}}
| 
| 
| A drive-in net is another fixed net, used by small-scale fishermen in some fisheries in Japan and South Asia, particularly in the Philippines. It is used to catch [[Shoaling and schooling|schooling]] [[forage fish]] such as [[Caesionidae|fusiliers]] and other reef fish. It is a dustpan-shaped net, resembling a [[trawl]] net with long wings. The front part of the net is laid along the seabed. The fishermen either wait until a school swims into the net, or they drive fish into it by creating some sort of commotion. Then the net is closed by lifting the front end so the fish cannot escape.<ref>{{cite book
| first= Otto
| last= Gabriel
| author2=Andres von Brandt
| year= 2005
| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=ziAI8AZsmUoC&q=%22drive-in+net%22++fish&pg=PA308
| title=Fish Catching Methods of the World
| publisher= Blackwell
| isbn= 0-85238-280-4}}</ref>
| 
|-
| {{vanchor|Fixed gillnet}} (on stakes)
| [[File:Fishing nets (8377175145).jpg|140px]]
| 
| Fixed gillnets<ref>FAO, [http://www.fao.org/fishery/geartype/247/en Fishing Gear Types : Fixed Gillnets (on stakes)], Fisheries and Aquaculture Department, 2011</ref> are nets for catching fish in shallow [[intertidal zone]]s. It consists of a sheet of network stretched on stakes fixed into the ground (or anchors), generally in rivers or where the sea ebbs and flows, for entangling and catching the fish.
| 
|-
| Fyke net {{anchor|Fyke net}}
| [[File:Fyke net in a museum.jpg|140px]]
| 
| {{visible anchor|Fyke nets}} are bag-shaped nets which are held open by hoops. These can be linked together in long chains, and are used to catch [[eel]]s in rivers. If fyke nets are equipped with wings and leaders, they can also be used in sheltered places in lakes where there is plenty of plant life. Hundreds of these nets can be connected into systems where it is not practical to build large traps.<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/222985/fyke-net fyke net] (2008) In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved December 24, 2008, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online.</ref> It is similar to [[putcher fishing]].
| 
|-
| [[Gillnet]]
| [[File:Eilif Peterssen-Laksefiskeren (1889).jpg|140px]]
| [[Sardine]]s, [[salmon]], [[cod]]
| The gillnet catches fish which try to pass through it by snagging on the gill covers. Thus trapped, the fish can neither advance through the net nor retreat. Uses a system of nets with floats and weights. The nets are anchored to the sea floor and allowed to float at the surface
| Animals cannot see the net, so they swim into it and are tangled. High risk of bycatch. 
|-
| [[Ghost net]]
| [[File:Turtle entangled in marine debris (ghost net).jpg|140px]]
| 
| Ghost nets are nets that have been lost at sea. They may continue to be a menace to marine life for many years.
| 
|-
| [[Haaf net]]
| [[File:Haaf Net Fishermen, Solway Estuary - geograph.org.uk - 612827.jpg|140px]]
| [[Salmon]]
| The haaf net is set in a rectangular wooden frame usually about four or five metres long and two metres wide supported by three legs. A central pole extends from one of the longer edges at a right angle. The fisherman wades into deep water and submerges the net, holding it upright with the central pole. When a fish swims into the net the fisherman tilts the pole backwards to scoop the net upwards, thereby trapping the fish.<ref name="Scott2014">{{cite book|first=Allen J. |last=Scott|title=Solway Country: Land, Life and Livelihood in the Western Border Region of England and Scotland|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5eymBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA76|date=2014|publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing|isbn=978-1-4438-7140-2|pages=76–77}}</ref><ref name=bbc>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-51124288|title=Fight to save 1,000-year-old fishing technique|first=Jonathan|last=Peters|date=21 January 2020|work=BBC News|access-date=22 January 2020}}</ref>
|
|-
| [[Hand net]]
| [[File:FraserRiverSalmonFishing.jpg|140px]]
| 
| Hand nets, also called ''scoop'' or ''dip nets'', are held open by a hoop and may be attached to a short or a long stiff handle. They have been known since antiquity and can be used for sweeping up fish near the water surface like [[muskellunge]] and [[northern pike]]. When such a net is used by an [[Fisherman|angler]] to help land a fish, it is a [[#Landing net|landing net]].<ref name="Fishing Tools - Landing Nets">[http://www.abc-of-fishing.net/fishing-tools/landing-net.asp Fishing Tools - Landing Nets] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080915101844/http://www.abc-of-fishing.net/fishing-tools/landing-net.asp |date=2008-09-15 }}</ref> In [[England]], hand netting is the only legal way of catching [[eel]]s and has been practised for thousands of years on the Rivers [[River Parrett|Parrett]] and [[River Severn|Severn]].
| 
|-
| {{vanchor|Keepnet}}
| [[File:Keep net med stor fangst..jpg|140px]]
| 
| Keepnets are tube-shaped nets used to keep caught fish alive by serving as an improvised [[fish cage]]. When in use, the main body of the net is submerged in the same waterbody, and any fish placed inside can still [[gas exchange|breathe]] and move around but cannot escape because the only exit of the net is fixed on land or above water. It is a far more humane tool to contain captured fish alive than [[fish stringer]]s, though also more cumbersome to transport and deploy.
| 
|-
| {{vanchor|Landing net}}
| [[File:Net.gsfc.jpg|140px]]
| 
| Landing nets are short-[[handle]]d handnets that are used to help lift fish out of the water, most commonly in [[angling]]. Landing nets are typically used for catching medium-sized [[game fish]] such as the [[common carp]], [[salmon]]/[[trout]] and [[Esox|pike]], which are too heavy to lifted by the fishing line alone.
| 
|-
| [[Lave net]]
| [[File:Lave net.jpg|140px]]
| 
| A special form of large hand net is the lave net, now used in very few locations on the [[River Severn]] in England and Wales. The lave net is set in the water and the fisherman waits till he feels a fish hit against the mesh and the net is then lifted. Fish as large as [[sturgeon]] are caught in lave nets.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.severnsideforum.co.uk/lave%20fishing.htm|title=Lave Net Fishing|website=severnsideforum.co.uk|access-date=2010-07-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100325133513/http://www.severnsideforum.co.uk/lave%20fishing.htm|archive-date=2010-03-25|url-status=usurped}}</ref> 
| 
|-
| [[Lift net]]
| [[File:Thookku Valai.jpg|140px]]
| 
| A lift net has an opening which faces upwards. The net is first submerged to a desired depth, and then lifted or hauled from the water. It can be lifted either manually (hand lift net) or mechanically (shore-operated lift net), and can be operated on a boat (boat-operated lift net)<ref>FAO, [http://www.fao.org/fishery/geartype/105/en Lift net] ''Fishing Gear Types''. Retrieved 12 October 2013.</ref>
| 
|-
| [[Midwater trawling|Midwater trawl]]
| [[File:Pelagisches Schleppnetz.jpg|140px]]
| [[Pelagic fish]] such as [[anchovies]], [[shrimp]], [[tuna]] and [[mackerel]]
| In midwater trawling a cone-shaped net is towed behind a single boat and spread by trawl doors (image), or it can be towed behind two boats ([[pair trawling]]) which act as the spreading device.
| Midwater trawling is relatively benign compared to the damage bottom trawling can inflict on the sea bottom.
|-
| [[Plankton net]]
| [[File:Planktonnetzbgar.jpg|140px]]
| [[Plankton]]
| [[Research vessel]]s collect plankton from the ocean using fine mesh plankton nets. The vessels either tow the nets through the sea or pump sea water onboard and then pass it through the net.<ref name=NOAA2>[http://swfsc.noaa.gov/textblock.aspx?Division=FRD&ParentMenuId=436&id=6268 Ichthyoplankton sampling methods] Southwest Fisheries Science Center, ''[[NOAA]]''. Modified 3 September 2007. Retrieved 29 July 2011.</ref>
|-
| [[Purse seine]]
| [[File:Purse seine illustration, Historic American Engineering Record.png|140px]]
| [[Schooling fish]]
| The purse seine, widely used by commercial fishermen, is an evolution of the surround net, which in turn is an evolution of the seine net. A large net is used to surround fish, typically an entire [[Shoaling and schooling|fish school]], on all sides. The bottom of the net is then closed by pulling a line arranged like a drawstring used to close the mouth of a purse. This completely traps the fish.
| Higher chance of bycatch
|-
| {{vanchor|Push net}}
| [[File:Banks shrimper.jpg|140px]]
| [[Shrimp]]
| A push net is a "small triangular fishing net with a rigid frame that is pushed along the bottom in shallow waters and is used in parts of the southwestern Pacific for taking shrimps and small bottom-dwelling fishes".<ref>Commission of the European Communities, [http://www.hcg.gr/alieia/PRESEN/GEAR_INDEX.pdf Multilingual dictionary of fishing gear] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160430193946/http://www.hcg.gr/alieia/PRESEN/GEAR_INDEX.pdf |date=2016-04-30 }}, 2nd edition, 1992 (n° 3247 p.[183]205).</ref>
| 
|-
| [[Seine net]]
| [[File:Seining for wild fish.jpg|140px]]
| 
| A [[Seine fishing|seine]] is a large fishing net that may be arranged in a number of different ways. In [[purse seine]] fishing the net hangs vertically in the water by attaching weights along the bottom edge and floats along the top. A simple and commonly used fishing technique is with beach seine, where the seine net is operated from the shore. Danish seine is a method which has some similarities with trawling. In the UK seine netting for salmon and sea-trout in coastal waters is only permitted in a very few locations and where it is permitted one end of the seine must remain fixed and the other end is then waded out and returns to the fixed point. This variant is called '''wade netting''' and is strictly controlled by law.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://web.onetel.net.uk/~rapanui/Fish_weirs/fish_weirs.htm|title=TalkTalk Webspace is closing soon!!|first=TalkTalk web|last=studio|website=web.onetel.net.uk|access-date=2010-04-23|archive-date=2016-06-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160606100348/http://web.onetel.net.uk/~rapanui/Fish_weirs/fish_weirs.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| 
|-
| {{vanchor|Shore-operated lift net}}
| [[File:Kochi chinese fishing-net-20080215-01a.jpg|140px]]
| [[Pelagic]] species
| These are held horizontally by a large fixed structure and periodically lowered into the water. Huge mechanical contrivances hold out horizontal nets with diameters of twenty metres or more. The nets are dipped into the water and raised again, but otherwise cannot be moved. The nets may hold bait or be fitted with lights to attract more fish.<ref>Commission of the European Communities, [http://www.hcg.gr/alieia/PRESEN/GEAR_INDEX.pdf Multilingual dictionary of fishing gear] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160430193946/http://www.hcg.gr/alieia/PRESEN/GEAR_INDEX.pdf |date=2016-04-30 }}, 2nd edition, 1992 (n° 3062 p.[56]78).</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fao.org/figis/servlet/geartype?fid=255|title=FAO Fisheries & Aquaculture - Fishing gear type|website=www.fao.org|access-date=2007-05-09|archive-date=2006-06-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060613191954/http://www.fao.org/figis/servlet/geartype?fid=255|url-status=dead}}</ref> The most famous examples are found at [[Kochi, India]], where they are known as [[Chinese fishing nets]] (''Cheena vala''). Despite this name, this technique is used all over the world. They are also widely used on the Atlantic coast of France, where they are operated from small huts built over the water on stilts, known as ''carrelets'', and on the Adriatic coast of Italy as ''[[trabucco]]''.
|
|-
| [[Surrounding net]]
| [[File:Salmon purse seining.jpg|140px]]
| 
| A surrounding net surrounds fish on all sides. It is an evolution of the seine, and is typically used by commercial fishers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://map.seafdec.org/Monograph_project/Surrounding_net.php|title=MONOGRAPH|website=map.seafdec.org}}</ref>
| 
|-
| [[Tangle net]]
| [[File:Tangle Net.jpg|140px]]
| 
| Tangle nets, also known as ''tooth nets'', are similar to gillnets except they have a smaller mesh size designed to catch fish by the teeth or upper jaw bone instead of by the gills.<ref>[http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/commercial/selective/methods.html Selective Fishing Methods] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180214015232/https://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/commercial/selective/methods.html |date=2018-02-14 }} '' Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife''. Retrieved 13 November 2011.</ref>

| 
|-
| {{vanchor|Trammel}}
| [[File:FMIB 36608 Trammel Net 2.jpg|150px]]
|Demersal species, fish and crustaceans.
| A trammel is a fishing net with three layers of netting that is used to entangle fish or crustacea.<ref name="FAO">{{citation | title= Fishing Gear Types: Trammel nets | url=http://www.fao.org/fishery/geartype/223/en | website= Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations | access-date=2010-09-27 }}</ref> A slack central layer with a small mesh is sandwiched between two taut outer layers with a much larger mesh. The net is kept vertical by the floats on the headrope and weights on the bottomrope. Floats can be small, cylindrical or egg-shaped, solid and plastic. They are attached on the head rope while weights made up of lead are distributed along the ground rope.<ref name="FAO" />
| Fishers can lose these nets. This can result in "[[ghost fishing]]", with associated loss of marine animals continuing for the remaining life of the net. The net also captures small sized organisms and non-target species. Such impact can be regulated by using larger meshes, however compared to gillnets the selectivity of trammel nets are lower and catches of small organisms and non-target species are common.
|}

{{clear}}

==Fishing lines==
[[Rope]]s and lines are made of [[fibre]] lengths, twisted or [[braid]]ed together to provide [[Tension (physics)|tensile]] strength. They are used for pulling, but not for pushing. The availability of reliable and durable ropes and lines has had many consequences for the development and utility of fishing nets, and influences particularly the scale at which the nets can be deployed.<ref>Hansen, Viveka (6 October 2022) [https://www.ikfoundation.org/itextilis/fishing-nets-and-lines.html Fishing nets and lines], ''IK Foundation''.</ref>

* [[Twine]]
* [[Braided fishing line]]
* [[Multifilament fishing line]]
* [[Monofilament fishing line]]
* [[Fishing line]]
* [[Manila rope]]
* [[Abacá]] rope

==Floats==
{{More citations needed section|date=February 2021}}
[[File:Large Glass Fishing Float with Net 1.JPG|thumb|250px|right|A Japanese [[glass fishing float]]]]

Some types of fishing nets, like seine and trammel, need to be kept hanging vertically in the water by means of [[Fishing float|floats]] at the top. Various light "corkwood"-type woods have been used around the world as fishing floats. Floats come in different sizes and shapes. These days they are often brightly coloured so they are easy to see.

* Small floats were usually made of [[cork (material)|cork]], but fishermen in places where cork was not available used other materials, like [[birch]] bark in [[Sweden]], [[Finland]], and [[Russia]], as well as the [[pneumatophores]] of [[Sonneratia caseolaris|mangrove apple]] in [[Southeast Asia]].<ref name="wildsingapore.com">[http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/plants/mangrove/sonneratia/caseolaris.htm Wild Singapore - Berembang ''Sonneratia caseolaris'']</ref> These materials have now largely been replaced by [[plastic foam]].
* [[Subsistence fishermen]] in some areas of [[Southeast Asia]] make corks for fishing nets by shaping the pneumatophores of mangrove apple into small floats.<ref name="wildsingapore.com"/>
*Across the [[Indo-Pacific|Indo-Pacific ocean]], many [[subsistence fishermen]] utilise discarded [[flip-flops]] as floats. This is especially common in the [[Indian Ocean|Western Indian Ocean]] on drag nets made from [[mosquito net]]s.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Jones|first1=Benjamin L.|last2=Unsworth|first2=Richard K. F.|date=2019-11-11|title=The perverse fisheries consequences of mosquito net malaria prophylaxis in East Africa|journal=Ambio|volume=49|issue=7|pages=1257–1267|language=en|doi=10.1007/s13280-019-01280-0|pmid=31709492|pmc=7190679|issn=1654-7209|doi-access=free}}</ref>
* ''[[Entelea]]'': The wood was used by Māori for the floats of fishing nets
* [[Native Hawaiians]] made fishing net floats from low density [[wiliwili]] wood.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ntbg.org/plants/plant_details.php?plantid=4906 |title=''Erythrina sandwicensis'' (Fabaceae) |work=Meet the Plants |publisher=[[National Tropical Botanical Garden]] |access-date=2009-01-31}}</ref>
* [[Glass float]]s were large glass balls for long oceanic nets, now substituted by [[hard plastic]]. They were used by fishermen in many parts of the world, not only to keep fishing nets afloat, but also for [[dropline]] and [[longline fishing]]. Often larger floats have marker [[flag]]s for easier spotting. Glass floats are now collectors' items. 

<gallery>
File:Birch bark fishing net weights.jpg|Finnish fishing net corks made out of birch bark and stones
File:Pentagram float.jpg|Cork float of a fisher net engraved with a protective [[pentagram]], [[Hvide Sande]], Denmark
Strombus canarium.shelll004.jpg|[[Dog conch]]es are used to weigh down fishing nets.
File:Providing a safety 'net' for Syrian women in Lebanon (11173910046).jpg|A plastic float being sewn onto a net
</gallery>

==Weights and anchors==
The [[Cucuteni–Trypillia culture]], {{ca.|5500}} BC to 2750 BC in Eastern Europe, created ceramic weights in various shapes and sizes which were used as loom weights when weaving, and also were attached to fishing nets.<ref>Prehistoric textiles: the development of cloth in the Neolithic and Bronze By E.J.W. Barber</ref>

Despite their ornamental value, [[Laevistrombus canarium|dog conch]]es are traditionally used by local fishermen as sinkers for their fishing nets.<ref name="Poutiers">{{cite book|last=Poutiers|first=J. M.|title=The living marine resources of the Western Central Pacific|year=1998|publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)|isbn=92-5-104051-6|chapter-url=ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/009/w7191e/w7191e40.pdf|editor=Carpenter, K. E.|location=Rome|page=471|chapter=Gastropods}}{{Dead link|date=August 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>Purchon, R. D. & Purchon D. E. A.  (1981). "[https://web.archive.org/web/20130507132232/http://mollus.oxfordjournals.org/content/47/3/290.abstract The marine shelled Mollusca of West Malaysia and Singapore. Part I. General introduction and account of the collecting stations]". ''Journal of Molluscan Studies'' '''47''': 290–312.</ref>

==Production==
[[File:"The training is good, it's great. It helps us to learn and to earn a living" (11173845336).jpg|alt=A mother and her child show the fishing net that the mother is making|thumb|Syrian refugee in Lebanon manually manufacturing from her home a fishing net intended for sale<ref>{{Cite web |title = Fishing nets for a future: helping Syrian women in Lebanon | website=[[YouTube]] |url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqJW7B7xcKI |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150828012711/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqJW7B7xcKI |url-status = dead |archive-date = 2015-08-28 |access-date = 2015-04-08}}</ref>]]

Fishing nets are usually manufactured on industrial [[loom]]s, though traditional methods are still used where the nets are [[Weaving|woven by hand]] and assembled in home or cottage industries.{{Citation needed|date=March 2021}}

==Environmental impact==
[[Fisheries]] often use large-scale nets that are indiscriminate and catch whatever comes along; sea turtle, dolphin, or shark. [[Bycatch]] is a large contributor to sea turtle deaths.<ref>Stokstad, Erik. "Sea Turtles Suffer Collateral Damage From Fishing." ''Science AAAS'' 07 Apr 2010: n. pag. Web. 8 Dec 2010.{{cite web |url=http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2010/04/sea-turtles-suffer-collateral-da.html |title=Sea Turtles Suffer Collateral Damage from Fishing - ScienceNOW |access-date=2012-05-12 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310111027/http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2010/04/sea-turtles-suffer-collateral-da.html |archive-date=2012-03-10 }}</ref> [[longline fishing|Longline]], [[trawling|trawl]],<ref>Sasso, Christopher, and Sheryan Epperly. "Seasonal sea turtle mortality risk from forced submergence in bottom trawls." ''Fisheries Research'' 81.1 (2006): 86-88. Web. 15 Dec 2010.</ref> and [[gillnet]] fishing are three types of fishing with the most sea turtle accidents. Deaths occur often because of [[drowning]], where the sea turtle was ensnared and could not come up for air.<ref>Haas, Heather, Erin LaCasella, Robin LeRoux, Henry Miliken, and Brett Hayward. "Characteristics of sea turtles incidentally captured in the U.S. Atlantic sea scallop dredge fishery." ''Fisheries Research'' 93.3 (2008): 289-295. Web. 15 Dec 2010.</ref> Cubs of endangered [[Saimaa ringed seal]] also drown to fishing nets.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.rcinet.ca/eye-on-the-arctic/2020/07/01/finnish-conservationists-worry-about-saimaa-ringed-seal-as-fishing-net-ban-ends/ |title= Finnish conservationists worry about Saimaa ringed seal as fishing net ban ends  |author=<!--Not stated--> |date= July 2020|website= Eye On The Arctic |publisher= |access-date= |quote=}}</ref>

Fishing nets, usually made of [[plastic]], can be left or lost in the ocean by fishermen. Known as [[ghost net]]s, these [[Plastic pollution#Entanglement|entangle]] [[fish]], [[whales]], [[dolphin]]s, [[sea turtle]]s, [[shark]]s, [[dugong]]s, [[crocodile]]s, [[seabird]]s, [[crab]]s, and other creatures, restricting movement, causing [[starvation]], [[laceration]] and infection, and, in those that need to return to the surface to breathe, suffocation.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/highlands_and_islands/6248366.stm |title='Ghost fishing' killing seabirds |access-date=2008-04-01 |date=28 June 2007 |work=BBC News }}</ref>

<gallery>
File:Turtle excluder device.jpg|A [[turtle excluder device]] (TED)
File:Sea turtle entangled in a ghost net.jpg|Sea turtle entangled in a net
File:logger ted 01.jpg|[[Loggerhead sea turtle]] exiting from fishing net through a turtle excluder device
</gallery>

==Miscellany==
[[File:Aa scuba netcutter.jpg|thumb|140px|[[Scuba diver]]'s net cutter]]
Divers may become trapped in fishing nets; [[monofilament fishing line|monofilament]] is almost invisible underwater. Divers often carry a net cutter. This is a small handheld tool carried by scuba divers to extricate themselves if trapped by a fishing net or [[fishing line]]. It has a small sharp blade such as a replaceable [[scalpel]] blade inside the small notch. There is a small hole at the other end to for a lanyard to tether the cutter to the diver.{{Citation needed|date=March 2021}}

{{clear}}

==Gallery==

{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" style="text-align: left;"
|-
! &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Fishing nets round the world &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
|-
|{{multiple image
 | align = left
 | direction = horizontal
 | header            = 
 | header_align      = center
 | caption_align = center
 | image1    = Fuiken.jpg
 | width1    = 261
 | caption1  = Three fykes at the [[Zuiderzeemuseum]], Netherlands
 | image2    = A close look at a fishing net, Bangor - geograph.org.uk - 958876.jpg
 | width2    = 134
 | caption2  = Commercial [[trawl net]], [[Bangor, County Down|Bangor]]
 | image3    = BD-fishermen.jpg|
 | width3    = 200
 | caption3  = Fishermen in Bangladesh
 | image4    = Fisherman mending net.jpg
 | width4    = 259
 | caption4  = Moroccan fisherman mending his nets
 | image5    = Carrelet, Esnandes, Charente-Maritime, august 2015.jpg
 | width5    = 259
 | caption5  = Fishing nets on [[pontoon (nautical)|pontoon]]s
}}

{{multiple image
 | align = left
 | direction = horizontal
 | header            = 
 | header_align      = center
 | caption_align = center
 | image1    = Vissersboot(01).jpg
 | width1    = 200
 | caption1  = Fishing nets on a shrimp boat, [[Ostend]], Belgium
 | image2    = Fishing.cropped.jpg
 | width2    = 200
 | caption2  = Fishing with a cast net
 | image3    = Fishing equipment on Lyme Regis Cobb - geograph.org.uk - 371792.jpg
 | width3    = 200
 | caption3  = Fishing nets and marker flags used on a small fishing vessel at [[Lyme Regis]], England
 | image4    = Bordeaux_Maison_Larrieu_R01.jpg
 | width4    = 226
 | caption4  = Net manufacturer Larrieu Frères in [[Bordeaux]], France, founded 1622
}}
{{clear}}
|}

==See also==

* [[Fish trap]]
* [[Fishnet (material)]]
* [[Miraculous catch of fish]]
* {{slink|Mosquito net|Usage}}

==Notes==
{{reflist|2}}

==References==
* Fridman AL and Carrothers PJG (1986) [https://web.archive.org/web/20120505130957/http://www4.fao.org/cgi-bin/faobib.exe?vq_query=A%3DCarrothers,%20P.J.G.&database=faobib&search_type=view_query_search&table=mona&page_header=ephmon&lang=eng ''Calculations for fishing gear designs"] (FAO fishing manual), Fishing News Books. {{ISBN|978-0-85238-141-0}}
* Klust, Gerhard (1982) [https://archive.org/details/nettingmaterials034862mbp ''Netting materials for fishing gear''] [[FAO]] Fishing Manuals, Fishing News Books. {{ISBN|978-0-85238-118-2}}. [https://archive.org/download/nettingmaterials034862mbp/nettingmaterials034862mbp.pdf Download PHP (9MB)]
* Prado J and Dremière PY (eds.) (1990) [http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/ah827e/AH827E00.htm#Contents ''Fisherman's workbook''] FAO, Rome. {{ISBN|0-85238-163-8}}.
* von Brandt A (1984) [https://books.google.com/books?id=ziAI8AZsmUoC&q=intitle:fish+intitle:catching+intitle:methods+intitle:of+intitle:the+intitle:world ''Fish catching methods of the world''] Wiley-Blackwell. {{ISBN|978-0-85238-280-6}}.

==External links==
{{commons category|Fishing nets}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120322094101/http://sitebuilder.yodelaustralia.com.au/sites/13811/Basic%20Net%20Design%20Gill%20nets%20pdf.pdf Basic net design: Gill nets]

{{fishing tackle|expanded=techniques}}
{{fisheries and fishing}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fishing Net}}
[[Category:Fishing nets|!]]