What Is Purse Seine?

kelolalaut.com - Purse seine is one of the fishing techniques that used large net to encircles the school of fish. This fishing gear usually used to catch schooling fish that swims near the surface like mackerel, skipjack, tuna and other pelagic fish. This seine works as a large net that will be deployed around the area. The seine has floats along the top line with a lead line threaded through rings along the bottom. When the school of fish is located, a skiff will encircle the fish with the net. Lead line then pulled in, create closed ‘pursing’ net on the bottom that prevent fish from escape by swimming downward. The catch inside the nets can be hauled aboard or bringing it along sides the vessel. 

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The size of purse seines net can reach more than 2,000 m in length and 200 m in depth. This size is depend on the size of vessel, mesh size and targeted species. This vessel has power block to pull the seine net and located on the stern or back of the boat. The purse seine has some component like large net, net drum with crane, and winch. 

Finding the location of the fish is the most difficult step of this fishing technique. One of the way to locate the fish is to observe natural signs like fast swimming pods of dolphin, swarming sea birds on certain area, ruffling of surface water and using radar fish finder to show the exact location of the fish.

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Purse seine can be considered as environmentally friendly fishing technique. If the catch is wrong species or wrong size, the whole catch can be released safely before the net is completely hauled. The net of purse seine does not touch the sea floor therefore it causes minimal impact to the sea floor. Very rare case in shallow water the bottom of the net may lay on the sea floor but the gear is not dragged across the sea floor, so it should be very little effect.

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