What is Purse Seine Fishing?

What is Purse Seine Fishing?

• A purse seine is made of a long wall of netting framed with floating and leadline (usually, of equal or longer length than the former) and having purse rings hanging from the lower edge of the gear, through which runs a purse line made from steel wire or rope which allow the pursing of the net.
• Why it is banned?
  • Because this fishing method uses a wide net to draw in not only the targeted fish but also at-risk varieties, including turtles.
  • The ban on purse seine fishing is implemented in the territorial waters of Tamil NaduKerala, Puducherry, Odisha, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands up to 12 nautical miles.
• Fishing is a State subject and the management plan for marine fisheries in territorial waters is the job of the states (Under the Seventh Scheduled of the Indian constitution).

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.

Q1) What is a long line in fishing?

Longlines consist of a mainline, gangions, and baited hooks. A high-flyer buoy is used to monitor gear position while fishing, and lightsticks are often used to target certain species. The longline set can be suspended at any depth within the water column, depending on target species.

Source: Purse seine fishing reveals faultlines in fisher community