FAO/FIIT Fishing Gear Type Fact-Sheet Traps updated : 10-mai-2001 ISSCFG Classification : > Category : Traps   Pots   Fyke nets   Stow nets   Barriers, Fences, Weirs, Corrals, etc.   Aerial traps   Stationary uncovered pound nets Profile General Description: Traps, large stationary nets or barrages or pots, are gears in which the fish are retained or enter voluntarily and will be hampered from escaping. They are designed in such manner that the entrance itself became a non- return device, allowing the fish to enter the trap but making it impossible to leave the catching chamber. Traps are baited or not. Pieces of fish are often used as bait. Artificial baits are also in use. Other types of traps are provided with large guiding panels made from netting to lead the fish into the catching chamber. Different materials are used for building a trap; wood, split bamboo, netting wire are some examples. Specific Handling Equipment: Traps, large stationary nets type, are usually hauled by hand but forpot haulers are increasingly used, especially for hauling pots from deep waters. Larger traps like pound nets are increasingly handled with hydraulic hauling devices, Like "ball-rollers". Fishing Vessels using this gear: Trap setters Fishing Operations: These are a group of gear in which the fish enters voluntarily, but is hampered from coming out. Fishermen visit traps regularly for collecting the catch and replacing bait, if any, leaving the gears set in the same place for several days. Traps like pots can more easily be moved from one fishing location to another. Features Target Species: Large stationary nets or barrages are used to catch migrating fish (pelagic and demersal). Pots are used for catchinglobster,crabs,shrimps, octopus, eels, and all kinds of reef fish and euryhaline species. Areas: all over the world The Gear and its Environment: Deployment Area: Traps are operated in a very wide range of depths, either in inland, inestuarine and sea waters. Large traps (stationary nets or barrages) are set incoastal waters; pots can be anywhere up to several hundred meters depth. Impact on the Environment: Low negative environmental impact, caught juveniles or undersized species can be released alive. Mesh size in the trap can also be used to release small sized individuals. Lost pot will continue to fish and thus "ghost fish" but, in more and more fisheries, a regulation requires that a pot includes some escapement window/panel.