Fishing, Drift

fishing from commercial fishing vessels called drifters.

Some ocean fish, such as herring, mackerel, and salmon, do not usually run in schools. Such fish are caught with the help of floating nets, more often called drift nets, which are able to hold the fish that come into contact with them. Seeking to pass through the net and not sensing it as an obstacle to its movement, the fish becomes caught in the net up to its fins, so that it cannot move forward. When the fish attempts to move backward, it cannot get out of the net square. Drift fishing is most widely developed with regard to herring; a drift net for catching herring is rectangular in form (about 30 m long and 10-12 m high). Nets linked together (as many as 100 to 150) form a drift system, which is held together by so-called lead or cable either below or above the wall of nets. Depending on its location, there are two types of drift-net gear: Scotch or Dutch. The drift system and catch are controlled by buoys and floats attached to the upper lines of the nets.

The work cycle of a drift-net boat consists of laying out the system of nets, drifting (which is the main process, in the course of which the fish are caught) hauling in the nets, emptying the nets, and preparing for the next drift (the last three processes take place simultaneously).