Stick-held falling net

Stick-held castnet

              This is an improved version of the squid castnet, with incorporated elements of a stick-held dip-net.  The net is 10-20 meters deep, 20-50 meters in circumference.  The main net material is nylon 210 d/4-6, 25-30 mm mesh-size, whereas cod-end and bottom selvedge are polyethylene 380 d/9-12, with the same mesh-size.  There are two patterns of net construction:  One way is to join 6-8 triangular pieces with the cutting pattern of 1N2B, and the other way is to join rectangular pieces with different lengths, so that the shortest one is at the top of the finished product and the longest one at the bottom.  At the bottom of the net there is an iron chain sinker, and plastic, iron or stainless steel rings at l-meter intervals.  These rings are for the purse line, which is a 12-14 mm thick polyethylene or polypropylene, normal or cross-rope.

              The fishing operation is carried out at night, from a boat equipped with electric luring lights.  The net is set on a bamboo boom, as for the stick-held dip-net.  The catch is mainly squid, but also cuttlefish, Indian mackerel and other fish.  Fishing is done mostly in the Gulf of Thailand, all the year round, and is the most wide-spread form of squid-fishing in Thai waters.

Stick-held box net

              Some fishermen believe that a stick-held castnet has two serious disadvantages: it has too large a resistance in the water when it is being set, and its upper part frightens the fish and squid away.  The net has therefore been modified, so that it is in the shape of a cube or a box.  The upper edge is a rope with the hanging ratio 0.7-0.6, the bottom edge is the same as before.  The two outer vertical edges and sometimes all four edges, have rings and rope attached, so that the net can be lifted like a curtain during setting.  The purpose of this is to minimize the surface, therefore the resistance, of  the net in water.  In all other respect this gear is similar to an ordinary stick-held castnet.

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