Design aspects of small meshed purse seine nets without pocket

The small meshed purse seine net without pocket was locally called ‘ghan’ in Ratnagiri because of smaller mesh size of the main webbing of the net. The study deals specifically with the design, construction and operational details of the small meshed purse seine nets (ghan) without pocket operated from Ratnagiri. The nets were made of polyamide (PA) with knotted netting having small mesh size of 30 mm. The total length and stretched depth of purse seines in Ratnagiri was 521.5 to 1112.4 m and 33 to 82.35 m, respectively. The hanging coefficient along the floatline was 0.52 to 0.88 while along the lead line was 0.59 to 0.95. The gear was operated using the single boat with the aid of an unpowered skiff. The depth of operation was always less than the depth of the net. The time required for setting, pursing, hauling and brailing varied from two to two and half hours.