Backing down (Fishing)

Driving the boat backwards (in reverse) while pursuing a fish

Bottom fish (Fishing)
Fish that spend most of their lives on bottom, such as cod, snapper, and grouper
Bycatch (Fishing)
Non-targeted sea life caught by commercial fishermen. Tuna longlines have a bycatch of turtles or mahi-mahi,
for instance. Shrimp nets have a bycatch of at least a hundred species of fish and crab, discarded overboard.
Cast net (Fishing)
A circular net thrown by hand. The outer perimeter is lined with lead weights. Great for catching shrimp and
baitfish.
Catch-and-release (Fishing)
Term that refers to releasing the fish you catch so that they can live to fight another day, and thus insuring a
productive fishery.
Chum (Fishing)
Chopped up fish, shellfish or even animal parts (for sharks), dropped overboard to attract gamefish
Chum bag (Fishing)
A mesh bag left hanging overboard, filled with chum. Trollers sometimes drag the bag alongside the boat.
Smaller bags can be trolled deep while attached to downrigger balls.
Circle hook (Fishing)
A circular hook up to 16/0 size, very safe to handle. The fish hooks itself with this one, and the harder they pull,
the more firmly the hook imbeds itself. Ideal for releasing fish, since the circle hook is seldom swallowed.
Coastal pelagic (Fishing)
An offshore fish that migrates along the coastline, but isn't a true, ocean-going pelagic. Examples are kingfish,
Spanish mackerel, cobia.
Crimp sleeve (Fishing)
A metal tube, thin as two wire leaders together. When attaching wire or very heavy mono leader to a hook, one
should use the crimp sleeve. A special, plier-like tool crimps the sleeve tight.
Cut bait (Fishing)
Fish cut into chunks to fit the hook.
Deep-drop (Fishing)
Bottom fishing in deep water, from 500 to 1,100 feet and sometimes deeper. Usually, a sash (window) weight is
required to reach bottom. Circle hooks are a necessity
Drip bag (Fishing)
Very similar to an IV drip bag used by doctors, this device releases a constant drip of pogey oil over the side,
attracting fish.
FADs (Fishing)
Fish Attracting Devices were first used centuries ago. Any large, floating object like a tree that attracts pelagic
fish. Some are anchored; others are allowed to drift.
Fathom (Fishing)
Six feet of depth. Many nautical charts are marked in fathoms, not feet.
Flying gaff (Fishing)
A detachable gaff, designed for big fish. The steel hook is attached to a strong rope. The pole is used to jerk the
hook into the fish, detaches, and the fish is suddenly attached to the boat by a rope.
Gaff (Fishing)
A steel hook of varying sizes, mounted on a pole or stick, used for snagging worn-out fish that have been played
to boatside by fishermen.
Gear ratio (Fishing)
Retrieve speed of reel determines how much line is reeled in one revolution of the reel's handle.
Monofilament (Fishing)
The clear style fishing line most commonly used by anglers.
Pelagic (Fishing)

True, ocean-going fish that roam the deep water.

Thermocline (Fishing)
Depth of lake where the lowest level of useable oxygen and cooler water temperatures meet. Bass will rarely be
found below this level.
Discards, or discarded catch is that portion of the total organic material of animal origin in the catch, which is
thrown away, or dumped at sea for whatever reason. It does not include plant materials and post harvest waste
such as offal. The discards may be dead, or alive.
Bycatch is the total catch of non-target animals. Discards are not a subset of bycatch since the target species is often
discarded.
Landings refer to the portion of the total catch brought ashore or transhipped from the vessel.
the proportion of the catch which is taken on board, or brought to the surface by the vessel and which is subsequently
thrown back to sea, dead or dying, or likely to die.
Bycatch: discarded catch of any living marine resource plus retained incidental catch and unobserved mortality due to a
direct encounter with fishing gear.
Target catch
This term refers to catch of a species, a particular size or sex, or an assemblage of species that is primarily sought in a
fishery, such as shrimp in a shrimp fishery or mature female fish in a roe fishery. The definition of targeted catch within a
fishery is not static, as in a multispecies fishery, the mix of species targeted and caught may change over time.
Incidental catch
This term is used in the context of rare incidents or events such as catches of marine mammals, turtles or seabirds.
Incidental catch is generally expressed in numerical terms rather than in terms of weight. Incidental catch is usually
discarded and is considered as a discard for the purposes of this report.
Slipped catch
This term is applied to catches (usually purse-seine catches) that are released in the water without being taken on board
the vessel. Slipped catches are considered to be discards. Quantities of slipped fish are difficult to estimate.

Trawling is a method of fishing that involves actively pulling a trawl through the water behind one or more
trawlers. Trawls are fishing nets that are dragged along the bottom of the sea or in midwater at a specified depth.
A trawler may also operate one or more trawl nets simultaneously (double-rig and multi-rig).
Side trawlers: Until the 1950s trawlers in the Atlantic Ocean were designed to shoot and haul trawl gear from
the side
Stern trawlers: From the 1950s, trawlers have been designed to operate gear from the stern. Technically,
stern trawling is more feasible than side trawling and uses space more efficiently. It can be fully
mechanized, enabling faster and safer operation of the gear, and better performance in heavy weather.

Factory trawlers: A factory trawler is a large stern trawler which has additional facilities for processing
and freezing fish installed on board. This allows the factory trawler to stay for long periods at sea.
Factory trawlers can displace up to 3,000 tons.

Wet trawlers: Wet trawlers are designed to make short fishing trips and land fresh fish kept in ice.

Sailing trawlers: Traditional sailing trawlers were limited to trawling at depths of 55-75 metres, but
modern trawlers often trawl to 900 metres, with experiments having gone even deeper.

Bottom trawling is trawling (towing a trawl, which is a fishing net) along the sea floor.
The demersal zone is the part of the sea or ocean (or deep lake) comprising the water column that is near to
(and is significantly affected by) the seabed and the benthos. The demersal zone is just above the benthic zone
and forms a layer of the larger profundal zone.
Otter trawling derives its name from the "trawl doors" or "otters" which are used to keep the mouth of the net
open. As these are towed along the seabed, hydrodynamic pressure pushes them outwards, preventing the
mouth of the net closing.
Midwater trawling is trawling at a depth that is higher in the water column than the bottom of the ocean. It is
contrasted with bottom trawling. Midwater trawling is also known as pelagic trawling and bottom trawling as
benthic trawling.
The pelagic zone is the part of the open sea or ocean that is not near the coast.
Pair trawling is a fishing activity carried out by two boats, with one towing each warp (the towing cables).

Cast net
Cast nets are small round nets with weights on the edges which is 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.[2]

Gillnet
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.

Drift net
The drift net is a net that is not anchored. It is usually a gillnet, and is commonly used in the coastal waters of
many countries.[4]. Its use on the high seas is prohibited, but still occurs.

Trammel
A trammel is a fishing net set vertically in the water with three layers. The inner layer is of a finer mesh than the
outer layers.

Seine
A 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 beach seining, where the seine net is operated from the shore. Danish seine
is a method which has some similarities with trawling.

Trawl
A trawl is a large net, conical in shape, designed to be towed in the sea or along the sea bottom. The trawl is
pulled through the water by one or more boats, called trawlers. The activity of pulling the trawl through the
water is called trawling.

2.11 Observer Safety

Work aboard fishing vessels has its special hazards and pitfalls, especially to the inexperienced and unwary.
The best insurance against accidents is knowledge and experience. But even with years of experience,
remember that familiarity with a ship can often lead to carelessness and hence to injury.
There are two basic causes for accidents:
(1) unsafe acts by crew members and observers, and
(2) unsafe conditions of vessel, equipment, gear or work area.
Hazards on board trawlers increase markedly when fishing operations are underway. The observer's position
as a non-crew member means he is to keep out of the way of the crew when they are engaged in setting or
hauling the trawl net - undoubtedly the most dangerous operations on trawlers.
The following safety rules apply to all observers:
(1) Keep clear of all operations when the crew are hauling or setting the trawl. Observe the operations
from a safe vantage point on deck or from the bridge and stern wheelhouse, but keep out of the
way and don't get involved.
(2) Do not attemt to cross over moving trawl lines. Whenever possible observers should stay clear of
the towing cables. If the wire snags on an obstruction, the warps could snap like a piece of cotton.
(3) Avoid standing in the line of any block or hoisting apparatus that is under load.
(4) Do not step on or inside ropes, wires or nets while the gear is being set or retrieved.
(5) Watch your footing at all times. Records show that over one-third of all disabling accidents aboard
fishing vessels are caused by falls either on deck, in the fish hold or while boarding or debarking
the vessel at dockside.
(6) Never run on deck. If a man goes overboard, throw the life buoy immediately into the water
whether he is on the surface or not. By doing this, the spot where he went under has been marked
and will help in locating him.
(7) In rough weather or when the vessel is jogging, exercise extreme caution when on deck. Always try
to be in the company of another person when going on deck at night.
(8) Keep clothing free of loose or dangling appendages. The practice of securing work gloves to oil
pants can be disastrous if one comes into contact with moving fishing gear.
(9) When at sea take good care of your health. Keep your hands clean and don't let slime or gurry dry
on them as this will cause cracks to develop. After washing your hands at the end of a long
workday, use a good hand lotion, working it well into the skin.

(10) Be familiar with the proper manner of handling different species of fish to avoid injuries from their
teeth or spines. If a puncture occurs, proceed to the galley as fast as possible, fill a bucket with hot
water, add a drawing agent like Epsom salts and soak the wound for at least two hours. Do not
neglect a small puncture of your skin. Most infections originate in a small, insignificant scratch or
sore. Wear protective gloves when handling fish.

Beam trawl
In this type of trawl the mouth or opening of the net is kept open by a beam which is mounted at each end on
guides or skids which travel along the seabed. The trawls are adapted and made more effective by attaching
tickler chains (for sand or mud) or heavy chain matting (for rough, rocky ground) depending on the type of
ground being fished. These drag along the seabed in front of the net, disturbing the fish in the path of the trawl,
causing them to rise from the seabed into the oncoming net
The demersal or bottom trawl is a large, usually cone-shaped net, which is towed across the seabed. The
forward part of the net the wings is kept open laterally by otter boards or doors. Fish are herded between
the boards and along the spreader wires or sweeps, into the mouth of the trawl where they swim until exhausted.
They then drift back through the funnel of the net, along the extension or lengthening piece and into the codend, where they are retained.

Dredging
Dredging is used for harvesting bivalve molluscs such as oysters, clams and scallops from the seabed. A dredge
is a metal framed basket with a bottom of connected iron rings or wire netting called a chain belly. The lower
edge of the frame has a raking bar, with or without teeth, depending upon the species targeted. The catch is
lifted off the seabed or out of the sea by the raking (or teeth) bar and passes back into the basket or bag.
Depending on the size of the boat and the depth of water fished the number of dredges or bags may vary from
a single dredge towed behind the vessel to from 5 to 10 or more dredges per side. Dredges are generally
attached to a towing bar and one is operated from each side of the vessel simultaneously.
Drift nets are not set or fixed in any way, are in fact mobile, and they are allowed to drift with the prevailing
currents. Drift nets are used on the high seas for the capture of a wide range of fish including tuna, squid and
shark, and off north-east England for salmon. Despite a global moratorium on large-scale drift nets (nets
exceeding 2.5 kms in length), introduced in 1992, problems still exist

Drift net
A gill net (see below) that is allowed to drift with prevailing currents.

Fish attraction devices (FADs)

Various species of fish often congregate or associate with other living creatures (e.g. tuna associate with
dolphins and whale sharks ) or objects floating or suspended in the sea. This natural phenomenon has been
exploited to attract fish to floating or suspended structures. Such structures can provide known locations for
congregating fish, around which vessels can operate a wide range of fishing techniques including purse seines,
pole and line or trolling. FADs may be used to concentrate fish in sufficiently high numbers which are then
surrounded with a purse seine net. Fishermen using pole and line or trolling methods may use the boat from
which they are fishing as a FAD.

Fish farming
Aquaculture is a term used to describe the farming of marine and freshwater organisms
Gill nets are walls of netting which may be set at or below the surface, on the seabed, or at any depth
inbetween. Gill netting is probably the oldest form of net fishing, having been in use for thousands of years.
True gill nets catch fish that attempt to swim through the net, which are caught if they are of a size large enough
to allow the head to pass through the meshes but not the rest of the body. The fish then becomes entangled by
the gills as it attempts to back out of the net. The mesh size used depends upon the species and size range being
targeted.
Tangle nets resemble gill nets but are slacker, shorter and have less flotation. This results in a looser-hung net
that entangles species rather than gilling them.
Trammel nets are a wall of net divided into three layers. An inner fine-meshed net is sandwiched between two
outer, larger meshed nets. The net is anchored at the base and floated by the headline, allowing it to hang
vertically. The inner net is looser than the outer ones, ensuring that the fish become entangled within it.

Handline
Fishing with lines and hooks is one of the oldest fishing methods. They may be used from a stationary or
moving boat. The catch is of very high quality as the fish is usually live when brought
aboard.

Jigging
Jigging is widely used to capture squid. A jig is a type of grapnel, attached to a line, which may be manually or
mechanically jerked in the water to snag the fish in its body. Jig fishing usually happens at night with the aid of
light attraction.

Trolling
Trolling involves towing baited hooks or lures through the water. The method is particularly suited to the
capture of pelagic species of high individual value. Examples include tuna (albacore and skipjack), wahoo,
dorado, barracuda and salmon.

Industrial fishing
Most fishing methods target fish for direct human consumption. Fisheries targeting species for reduction
purposes i.e. the manufacture of fish oil and meal, are referred to as industrial fisheries. Fish meal and oil is
produced almost exclusively from small, pelagic species, for which there is little or no demand for direct human
consumption. The methods of capture are purse-seining and trawling with small mesh nets in the range of 16-32
mm.

Long-lining
Long-lining is one of the most fuel-efficient catching methods. This method is used to capture both demersal
and pelagic fishes including swordfish and tuna. It involves setting out a length of line, possibly as much as 50100 km long, to which short lengths of line, or snoods, carrying baited hooks are attached at intervals. The lines

may be set vertically in the water column, or horizontally along the bottom. The size of fish and the species
caught is determined by hook size and the type of bait used.

Pelagic trawl
When trawling takes place in the water column or in mid-water between the seabed and the surface, it is
referred to as mid-water or pelagic trawling. Pelagic trawls target fish swimming, usually in shoals, in the water
column i.e. pelagic species. These include seabass, mackerel, Alaska pollack, redfish, herring and pilchards for
example.

Pots (or creels)

Pots (or creels) are small baited traps which can be set out and retrieved by the operating vessel. They are
widely used on continental shelves in all parts of the world for the capture of many species of crustaceans and
fish, together with octopus and shellfish such as whelks. Potting is a highly selective method of fishing
since the catch is brought up alive, and sorting takes place immediately, allowing unwanted animals to be
returned to the sea, making the method potentially sustainable

Purse seining
This is the general name given to the method of encircling a school of fish with a large wall of net. The net is
then drawn together underneath the fish (pursed) so that they are completely surrounded. It is one of the most
aggressive methods of fishing and aims to capture large, dense shoals of mobile fish such as tuna, mackerel and
herring.

Seine netting
This is a bottom fishing method and is of particular importance in the harvesting of demersal or ground fish
including cod, haddock and hake and flat-fish species such as plaice and flounder. The fish are surrounded by
warps (rope) laid out on the seabed with a trawl shaped net at mid-length. As the warps are hauled in, the fish
are herded into the path of the net and caught. Effectiveness is increased on soft sediment by the sand or mud
cloud resulting from the warps movement across the seabed. This method of fishing is less fuel-intensive than
trawling and produces a high quality catch, as the fish are not bumped along the bottom as with trawling.

Trap (nets)
Walls or compounds of netting are set out in a particular way and anchored to the seabed so that fish, once they
have entered, are prevented from leaving the trap. In some cases, e.g. salmon traps, long leader nets are
arranged from the shore to intercept migrating fish and guide them into the trap. Other species taken in traps
include bass, herring and tuna.
JIGGING
Jigging is the setting of a line, with baited hooks or lures, that is continually jerked. The motion, achieved by
hand or with a jigging machine, induces fish to take the hook.
Dredging
A dredge is a type of gear towed across the bottom with a solid metal frame in front to
collect the catch. It is most often used for molluscs such as clams and scallops, but some
types of dredge also target crabs and flatfish. Most dredge fishing is done in water
depths less than 150 m (80 fathoms).