trawl

Trawls

A conical bag-shaped net with two or more wings, pulled by one or two boats for a period, to catch mainly demersal fish or other aquatic animals that live directly on, or stay near the seabed. The trawl is subdivided into three major types: bottom trawl, pair trawl and beam trawl.

Trawls in Brunei Darussalam can be classified into 1 type.

1. Pukat tunda (demersal bottom trawl)
The demersal bottom trawl in Brunei Darussalam has two different types, one for catching fish and another for catching shrimp. The main difference is the design and the mesh sizes of the netting used. The fish trawl is about 30 m footrope length and 26 m head-a-rope length. The cod-end of the net has a mesh size set to a minimum of 51 mm of square mesh. The fish trawl net has a higher vertical opening as compared to the shrimp trawl net. Both types are operated with trawl wooden or steel doors to maintain its horizontal spread. The trawling speed ranges from about 3 to 3.5 knots. The trawl fishing boats are propelled with marine diesel engines with capacities ranging from 180 to 500 hp. The fishing boats are also equipped with mechanical drums as shown in figure 10 to facilitate the shooting and hauling of the net. The boat is also equipped with electronic instruments for navigation and for searching for suitable fishing grounds.