The methods used for catching fish are nearly as diverse as the fisheries themselves. For over a thousand years, fisheries in parts of Japan have used trained cormorants (sea birds) to harvest small fish. Elsewhere, sport fishermen use hand-tied, artificial flies to catch trout. Scuba divers harvest abalone and ornamental reef fish. In the United States, harpoons are still used to harvest some bluefin tuna.

 

The net, however, is the most common type of fishing equipment. Various kinds of nets are used for different kinds of fish. Seine nets encircle entire schools of fish and are used to harvest tuna, salmon, anchovies, and menhaden. Trawl nets are usually shaped somewhat like a cone and are towed behind fishing boats to catch cod, flounder, and shrimp. Gill nets are made with openings that are just large enough for the head of the fish to pass through, hooking the gills into the mesh. This method is often used to catch salmon and herring. Fish traps use nets as underwater fences to guide fish into a holding area from which they cannot exit. This method is particularly useful if the fish are to be sold live.

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gill net: large commercial fishing net: a net that is suspended vertically in the water like a curtain in order to catch fish by their gills

trawl: fishing net: 1.a large net that is dragged along the sea bottom behind a commercial fishing boat. Also called trawl net 2. Suspended fishing line: a long fishing line suspended between buoys that has several shorter lines with baited hooks attached. Also called trawl line

Seine: fishing net: a large commercial fishing net that is weighted so that it hangs vertically in the water.

Its ends are then hauled together to form a trap like a large bag.

harpoon: weapon similar to spear: a long pointed piece of metal that is attached to a cord and thrown or fired from a gun in order to capture whales or other large sea animals

Synonyms: spear, projectile, missile, lance, harpoon

Cormorant: 1.large marine bird: a large marine diving bird with webbed feet, a hooked bill, and a long neck that can expand to swallow fish.
Family: Phalacrocoracidae

2. somebody greedy or rapacious (informal)

further reading; seabirds:

wader, albatross, auk, avocet, cormorant, curlew, fulmar, gannet, guillemot, gull, kittiwake, lapwing, oystercatcher, peewit, pelican, plover, puffin, seagull, shag, skua, storm petrel, tern