GILL
NET FISHING
Various
types of gill nets, such as surface gill net, bottom gill
net, drift gill net and encircling gill net, are operated
both in Thai coastal waters and offshore. Some of them
are operated on a large scale, for example spanish mackerel
gill net and mackerel encircling gill net, whereas gill nets
for pomfret, shrimps, swimming-crab, and mullet are small-scale
fishing gears.
According
to the fisher statistics from 1990 to 1997, the overall annual
catches by gill nets decreased slightly after 1995.
Table
6.1 Annual catch by gill nets, 1990-1997
Type of
gill net |
1990 |
1991 |
1992 |
1993 |
1994 |
1995 |
1996 |
1997 |
Spanish mackerel |
17,317 |
14,935 |
21,985 |
19,377 |
15,225 |
21,401 |
17,544 |
15,934 |
Mackerel encircling |
17,207 |
14,413 |
12,828 |
10,663 |
18,323 |
18,554 |
16,912 |
18,828 |
Shrimp |
11,460 |
12,762 |
12,610 |
13,859 |
16,207 |
15,585 |
12,769 |
12,900 |
Others |
60,178 |
55,592 |
62,313 |
62,396 |
61,131 |
63,253 |
56,791 |
56,910 |
Total |
106,162 |
97,702 |
109,736 |
106,295 |
110,886 |
118,793 |
104,016 |
104,572 |
The
mackerel encircling gill net also sustained a relatively
high annual production. The major species caught by
this gear is Indo-Pacific mackerel, a very popular fish known
as pla-too in Thailand. The catch of Indo-Pacific
mackerel was particularly high in 1994, 1995 and 1997.
Pomfret
is a very high value fish, but the annual catch by pomfret
gill-net is comparatively low.
The
annual production by shrimp gill nets increased from 1990
to 1994 then decreased slightly until 1997. Shrimp gill-net
fishing has played an important role in spite of low production,
because the captured shrimps have a high export value.
The
proportion of catch by other gill nets is rather high. Among
these gears the most noteworthy is swimming crab gill net,
which is usually operated by small boats, but has a comparatively
high production.
The
main species caught by various gill nets in 1997 were as
follows:
Spanish mackerel gill net |
Catch-year (mt) |
Longtail Tuna |
5,737 |
Eastern little tuna |
4,089 |
Narrow-barred king
mackerel |
|
| (Spanish
mackerel) |
4,578 |
Others |
1,530 |
________________________________________________
Mackerel encircling gill net |
Catch/year
(mt) |
Indo-Pacific mackerel |
12,537 |
Eastern little tuna |
1,091 |
Others |
5,200 |
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| Shrimp gill net |
Catch/year (mt) |
| Tiger prawns |
70 |
| Other shrimps |
10,283 |
| Swimming-crab |
412 |
| Others |
2,169 |
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Other gill nets |
Catch/year (mt) |
Swimming-crab |
23,558 |
ndo-Pacific mackerel |
8,225 |
Mullet |
4,613 |
ndian mackerel |
1,818 |
Sardine |
1,175 |
Others |
17,521 |
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FISHING GEAR AND METHODS
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