Gill-net is an age-old traditional fishing gear in Vietnam . In 1997, it contributed 13.6% to the total fisheries production of 72,131 tons (from the statistics of 14 key provinces).

      The gill net became very popular in the small-scale fisheries because its construction is very simple and the capital investment is low.

      There are many types of gill net operating in Vietnamese waters. These are drift gill nets, surface gill nets, bottom gill nets, fixed gill nets, shrimp trammel nets and cuttlefish trammel nets. Depending on the target species and its behaviour, the design of gill nets varies.

      The fishing boats used in gill net fishery are small. There are about 18,000 small fishing boats with engines of less than 45 Hp or are not powered at all, these are 94% of the total gill-netters in the whole country. Therefore, the fishing grounds for these operations are in coastal waters.

Fishing Gear and Methods

      Gill net fishing in Vietnam can be classified into four types:

- Drift Gill Net

- Drift Bottom Gill Net

- Trammel Nets

- Bag Gill Net