Purse Seine fishing is used in the open ocean to target dense schools of single-species pelagic (midwater) fish like tuna and mackerel.
A vertical net ‘curtain’ is used to surround the school of fish, the bottom of which is then drawn together to enclose the fish.
Purse seine fishing is popular on India’s western coasts.
It is linked to concerns about the decreasing stock of small, pelagic shoaling fish such as sardines, mackerel, anchovies and trevally on the western coasts.
The scientific community argues that climatic conditions, including the El Nino phenomenon, are responsible for the declining catch of such fish in the last 10 years.
However, fishermen using traditional methods have placed the blame squarely on the rise in purse seine fishing.
Advantages of this method
Purse-seine fishing in open water is generally considered to be an efficient form of fishing.
It has no contact with the seabed and can have low levels of by catch.
It can also be used to catch fish congregating around fish aggregating devices
It is used in the open ocean to target dense schools of single-species pelagic (midwater) fish like tuna and mackerel.
Disadvantages:
Purse seining is a non-selective fishing method that captures everything that it surrounds, including sea turtles and marine mammals.
