Fishing and Gear Technology

Unit 14 - Long line gear

14.2.Traps and pots

The most commonly used traps are baited traps or pots to harvest crustaceans like crab and lobster. Baited traps are sometimes used to catch fish. The capture process of the traps is assisted by the tide or netting leader guiding the fish into the trap. Once the fish enter the trap through a door, the fish continue to swim around the circumference of the trap. At this stage, smaller fish may escape through the larger meshes of the net wall. However, very small fish continue to swim inside the trap rather than escape.
When the trap is lifted, the fish are concentrated in a small section of webbing at the back of the trap. At this point, the fish may attempt and succeed to escape through the meshes.
From this description of the catching process, it is obvious that the main selection process takes place during hauling.
The bait attracts the fish and crustaceans to the traps. The organisms try to enter the trap through the entrance. In this phase size selection may occur if the entering organisms are too large to pass through the opening.