Tangle net
Encyclopedia
Similar to a gillnet
, the tangle net, or tooth net, is a type of nylon
fishing net
. Left in the water for no more than two days, and allowing bycatch
to be released alive, this net is considered to be less harmful that other nets. The tangle net is used in the Philippines
by commercial fishermen, as well as by the scientific community. When spent, these nets can be bundled, and left on the sea floor to collect smaller species. These bundles are known locally as lumen lumen nets.
, Canada, as a gear specifically developed for selective fisheries. Tangle nets have smaller mesh sizes than standard gillnets. They are designed to catch fish by their nose or jaw, enabling bycatch to be resuscitated and released unharmed. These nets are made with a very thin light nylon
rope, have a small mesh and are strung between two ropes, a top rope with floats, and a bottom rope with weights. Dropped to the bottom of the ocean, located and retrieved through the use of a guide line and buoy, these nets have allowed both fishermen and scientists to reach areas not previously accessible. Tangle nets are generally left on the bottom for no more than a day or two so that the fish and bycatch does not die and spoil.
by local fishermen in order to supplement their income through catching commerially valuable mollusks. Scientists have used this technique in recent years to explore the deep water marine habitat. The rich species diversity of the Philippine Islands has been explored through the use of tangle nets which are able to obtain specimens from areas not reachable by traditional methods of using trawls and dredges. Through the placement of tangle nets 50 to 100 meters long, at depths from 100 meters to 400 meters, this cryptic marine habitat has been explored and many new and/or rare species of gastropods and crustaceans have been acquired. The success of deep set tangle nets was further exploited when Philippe Bouchet
and Danilo Largo launched an expedition in 2004 to explore the Panglao
area, known as the 2004 Panglao Marine Biodiversity Project.
s to settle and larvae to grow. Lumen lumen nets have yielded many more species of marine animals, including many very small species of micromollusk
s.
Gillnet
Gillnetting is a common fishing method used by commercial and artisanal fishermen of all the oceans and in some freshwater and estuary areas. The gillnet also is used by fisheries scientists to monitor fish populations. Because gillnets can be so effective their use is closely monitored and...
, the tangle net, or tooth net, is a type of nylon
Nylon
Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers known generically as polyamides, first produced on February 28, 1935, by Wallace Carothers at DuPont's research facility at the DuPont Experimental Station...
fishing net
Fishing net
A fishing net or fishnet is a net that is used for fishing. Fishing nets are meshes usually formed by knotting a relatively thin thread. Modern nets are usually made of artificial polyamides like nylon, although nets of organic polyamides such as wool or silk thread were common until recently and...
. Left in the water for no more than two days, and allowing bycatch
Bycatch
The term “bycatch” is usually used for fish caught unintentionally in a fishery while intending to catch other fish. It may however also indicate untargeted catch in other forms of animal harvesting or collecting...
to be released alive, this net is considered to be less harmful that other nets. The tangle net is used in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
by commercial fishermen, as well as by the scientific community. When spent, these nets can be bundled, and left on the sea floor to collect smaller species. These bundles are known locally as lumen lumen nets.
Description and technique
The tangle net originated in British ColumbiaBritish Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada, as a gear specifically developed for selective fisheries. Tangle nets have smaller mesh sizes than standard gillnets. They are designed to catch fish by their nose or jaw, enabling bycatch to be resuscitated and released unharmed. These nets are made with a very thin light nylon
Nylon
Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers known generically as polyamides, first produced on February 28, 1935, by Wallace Carothers at DuPont's research facility at the DuPont Experimental Station...
rope, have a small mesh and are strung between two ropes, a top rope with floats, and a bottom rope with weights. Dropped to the bottom of the ocean, located and retrieved through the use of a guide line and buoy, these nets have allowed both fishermen and scientists to reach areas not previously accessible. Tangle nets are generally left on the bottom for no more than a day or two so that the fish and bycatch does not die and spoil.
Use in the Philippines
For the last two decades tangle nets have been set in deep water near steep underwater cliffs off many islands in the PhilippinesPhilippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
by local fishermen in order to supplement their income through catching commerially valuable mollusks. Scientists have used this technique in recent years to explore the deep water marine habitat. The rich species diversity of the Philippine Islands has been explored through the use of tangle nets which are able to obtain specimens from areas not reachable by traditional methods of using trawls and dredges. Through the placement of tangle nets 50 to 100 meters long, at depths from 100 meters to 400 meters, this cryptic marine habitat has been explored and many new and/or rare species of gastropods and crustaceans have been acquired. The success of deep set tangle nets was further exploited when Philippe Bouchet
Philippe Bouchet
Philippe Bouchet is a French scientist, a zoologist whose primary scientific field of study is malacology. He is a senior professor at the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris, and is head of the Malacology laboratory and the Taxonomy Collections Unit there...
and Danilo Largo launched an expedition in 2004 to explore the Panglao
Panglao
Panglao may refer to either:*Panglao, Bohol, or*Panglao Island, on which the above municipality is located....
area, known as the 2004 Panglao Marine Biodiversity Project.
Lumen lumen nets
When tangle nets are damaged beyond repair they are twisted and wrapped into long bundles, which the Philippine locals call lumen lumen nets. These long sausage-like bundles are placed on the sea bottom along drop-offs in deep water with strong currents and left for several months at a time, which allows time for veligerVeliger
A veliger is the planktonic larva of many kinds of marine and freshwater gastropod molluscs, as well as most bivalve mollusks.- Description :...
s to settle and larvae to grow. Lumen lumen nets have yielded many more species of marine animals, including many very small species of micromollusk
Micromollusk
A micromollusk is a descriptive term for a shelled mollusk which is extremely small, even at full adult size. The word is usually, but not exclusively, applied to marine mollusks, although in addition, numerous species of land snails and freshwater mollusks also reach adult size at very small...
s.