Besides shrimp trawls, netmakers whip up a variety of 

 nets for different species of fish — from gill nets to pound 

 nets. Longer nets are hung outside on lines or between trees. 



The nets vary in size from a small 3-foot try net used by 

 shrimpers to test the catch in the water to gill nets thousands of 

 feet long. 



"When setting for flounder, it is not unsual for a fisher- 

 man to have set 2,000 to 3,000 yards of net," says Shepard. "In 

 hunting mullet, you might have a net that can be 20 feet deep 

 by 500 yards long." 



A netmaker's business is built on reputation. "Fishermen 



Bubba Harris (at left) and his father, Roger Harris, work 

 side-by-side each day. 



are on the water working and talking," says North Carolina Sea 

 Grant fisheries specialist Jim Bahen. "They are always compet- 

 ing. They talk about the best nets like a truck driver talks about 

 the best trucks. If a net is not catching well, the fisherman will 

 be critical of the net shop." 



When a reputation is established, fishers from all over the 

 country write or call a netmaker about buying nets. 



"I make nets for people wherever there is shrimping — in 

 Mexico, South America and from Virginia to Texas," says Parrish. 



However, he says even a high quality net won't help an 

 inexperienced fisher know what to catch. "You can have the best 

 net, but you won't catch any fish if the fisherman isn't any good." 



Some netmakers say times have changed. 



"My shops used to be lined with nets summer and winter 

 for ocean-going boats," says Harvey. "The business is getting worse 

 and worse. If Roger Harris and I got out, don't know what will 

 happen. But I am going to keep fighting and fighting." □ 



NET KNOWLEDGE 



By Ann Green 



Most people think of a commercial fishing net as a 

 simple mesh device that can be used to catch any type 

 of fish. However, nets vary according to the type of 

 fish caught. Here are some common nets used by 

 fishers in North Carolina waters. 



Gill net is versatile and can be used to catch a 

 variety of fish — from trout to hake and flounder. 

 These nets have openings large enough to allow a 

 fish's head to pass but not its body. When the fish 

 tries to back out of the webbing, it is caught behind 

 the gills. 



Pound net is intricate and has three sections: 



the leader, the heart and the pound. The leader is a 

 long expanse of webbing that extends to the shore and 

 bars fish from swimming downstream, directing them 

 toward the heart — the funnel that channels fish into 

 the pound. Also called a trap, a pound is a webbed 

 box with no top and no means of escape for the shad, 

 herring or flounder that swim into its midst. 



Seine is used to encircle fish and close all escape 

 routes. The circle of net is pulled smaller and smaller 

 until the trapped fish are concentrated. 



Trawl is a flattened, cone-shaped net that is 

 lowered to the ocean or sound bottom and dragged 

 along by the power of a boat. Shellfish or fish are 

 swept into the mouth of the net and pile up at the cod 

 or back end. In North Carolina, a bycatch-reduction 

 device and a turtle excluder are required. 



Fishers may tow from one to four trawls behind their 

 vessels. Periodically, the trawl is winched aboard the 

 board to empty the catch. Trawls can be rigged to catch 

 shrimp, crabs, flounder, spot, croaker and squid. □ 



COASTWATCH 



