CHAPTER 13 



Fishing Gear and Fishery Methods 



By Frank E. Firth 



Fisheries Engineer, Milton, Mass. Formerly Fisheries Technologist, 

 U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 



Early Development 



Fishing, one of man's earliest pursuits, has been undergoing steady improve- 

 ment. Evidence of the use of fish nets was found in the ruins of the Stone Age. 

 Reels, netting needles, and netting were depicted in Ancient Egypt. Explorers 

 and early settlers have turned up fish netting used by primitive people as widely 

 separated as the Arctic Ocean and the South Seas. Even today no one knows quite 

 how the knowledge of net-making spread so far. 



Although the early nets were contrived of crude materials and designs, they 

 were amazingly similar to those of the present day; in fact the netting knots are 

 identical. This knot has several names, such as "trawler's knot," "sheetbend," etc., 

 but is universally known as the "fishermen's knot" or "weaver's knot." 



Machines for the knitting of fish nets were invented in the last half of the 18th 

 century, but were not successful vmtil 1840, when they were capable of repro- 

 ducing the hand-knit nets. Some of these early machines are thought to be still 

 in use. This invention marked the beginning of a new era in commercial fishing. 

 Since that time and especially in recent years, with the use of readily available 

 materials, the commercial fisheries have grown and developed. 



The period from 1929 through 1949 has been one of tremendous development 

 in technical advances throughout the fisheries of the United States. This was made 

 possible, for the most part by the numerous improvements in the methods of 

 capture with the aid and application of technological research. 



The fishing gear now in use in the United States represents an investment of 

 over $50,000,000 (see Table 57, p. 231). The netting alone is valued at about half 

 this amount; cordage and rigging accessories the remainder. As nearly as can be 

 estimated gear will last less than a year; the biannual replacement is, therefore, ap- 

 proximately 100 per cent. 



Prior to December 7, 1941, nearly 50 per cent of the netting sold in this country 

 was imported. World War II cut off all such importations and the domestic 

 manufacturers, in addition to adequately supplying the needs of an expanded 

 fishery, were faced with the problem of producing large quantities of camouflage 

 netting as well. In the United States netting consumption, principally cotton, 

 amounts to approximately 7 million pounds a year. Cordage, principally Manila 

 hemp, is used by the fishing industry at the rate of 8 million pounds annually. 



During the past two decades legislation enacted for the alleged purpose of con- 



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