CASTNET FISHING

              Castnet (Hae) is a primitive fishing gear, and a very popular one among small-scale fisherman in Thailand.  It is useful in inland waters and in shallow coastal waters, and can be operated by a single fisherman, with or without a boat.  As they are a one-man gear, most such nets are small.  A comparatively large castnet, which in the past had been used for Indo-Pacific mackerel, became popular in the 1970s for squid-fishing from a boat with luring lights.  An improvement was made by adding a purse line to the bottom edge of the net.  This type of castnet (stick-held castnet) is one of the most widely used gears in Thailand.

              According to the fishery statistical records for 1990 to 1997, the annual catches by squid castnet (including stick-held castnet) have been increasing (Table 5.1).  A particularly sharp rise was evident in 1993, which was attributed to improvements in gear, such as stick-held castnet.

Table 5.1 Annual catch by castnets, 1990-1997

              The number of registered boats for squid castnet and the main species caught by castnets in 1997, are shown below:

Table 5.2 Number of registered fishing boats for squid castnet.

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FISHING GEAR AND METHOD