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Methods to catch fish and other aquatic
resources, with or without a gear, have always been
practiced. Although the fundamental principles,
i.e. filtering the water, luring and outwitting the
prey and hunting, are the basis for most of the
fishing gears and methods used even today, gears
and methods have changed significantly over time
and their capture efficiency is obviously hardly
comparable to that of prehistoric times.
A fishing gear is the tool with which aquatic
resources are captured, whereas the fishing method
is how the gear is used. Gear also includes
harvesting organisms when no particular gear (tool)
is involved. Furthermore, the same fishing gear can
be used in different ways. A common way to classify
fishing gears and methods is based on the
principles of how the fish or other prey are
captured and, to a lesser extent, on the gear
construction.
FAO defines and classifies the main categories
of fishing gear as follows:
- Surrounding nets (including purse
seines)
- Seine nets (including beach seines and Boat,
Scottish/Danish seines)
- Trawl nets (including Bottom: Beam, Otter
and Pair trawls, and Midwater trawls: Otter and
Pair trawls)
- Dredges
- Lift nets
- Falling gears (including cast nets)
- Gillnets and entangling nets (including set
and drifting gillnets; trammel nets)
- Traps (including pots, stow or bag nets,
fixed traps)
- Hooks and lines (including handlines, pole
and lines, set or drifting longlines, trolling
lines)
- Grappling and wounding gears (including
harpoons, spears, arrows, etc.)
- Stupefying devices
This classification is being slightly modified
to accommodate the most recent development of
fishing gears and methods and will soon be
published.
Fishing methods have continuously evolved
throughout recorded history. Fishers are inventive
and not afraid of trying new ideas. The
opportunities for innovation have been especially
good in recent decades with advances in fibre
technology, mechanization of gear handling,
improved performances of vessels and motorization,
computer processing for gear design, navigation
aids, fish detection to mention only a few
technologies.
Whereas technological development of fishing
gear and methods in the past was aimed to increase
production, the present situation with many
overfished stock, limited possibilities to expand
fishing on underexploited resources and concerns
about the environmental impact of fishing
operation, gear development is now very much
focussed on selective fishing and gears with less
impact on the environment.
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