Gillnetting For Salmon in British Columbia

Unlike trolling which is done mostly on the open ocean gillnetting takes place close to the rivers when the fish are getting ready to go spawn. A gillnet is up to 1800 feet long and 30 to 45 feet deep. The meshes are various sizes depending on the species of fish being fished. The mesh size is determined by the Department of Fisheries so that only targeted fish will be caught.

The top part of the net has a corkline which is made up of a series of foam or plastic floats which keeps the net on the ocean surface preventing it from sinking. On the bottom edge of the net is a lead line which causes the net to hang straight down below the cork line. The net is attached to these lines in such a way that it bellies out in the current. When not in use this net is stored wound up on a large hydraulic powered drum on the back of the boat.

The fisherman operates the drum from the back or aft of the drum. He finds a place to set it by spotting fish on his fish finder or by seeing jumpers. The size of a school of fish can be determined by the number of jumpers. When he finds a spot that he likes he then sets the net across the path that the fish will be travelling. On the end of the net he attaches of large float and if he is fishing at night he also attaches a light. This end is then dropped overboard and the net is played over the back as the boat heads in the desired direction. A set of horizontal rollers and vertical pin rollers guide the net over the stern and prevent it from snagging up on the way out. As the web is bunched up on the drum the operator has to grab the excess and help throw it out as it is being set. Once the fisherman comes to the other end of the net he will then attach another float and light and let the net drift.

It is important when setting the net to try and create a bit of a hook in the ends. This hook is there so that if any fish come up against the net and then swim along side looking for the end they will sometimes be trapped in the hook on the end. He then runs his boat up and down the sides of the net trying to scare any fish that are swimming along side into the net. Smaller fish can sometimes swim right through while desired fish will have their gills tangled in the mesh.

The fisherman also has to keep his eyes open for other boats that are travelling in the area and who might not see his net. He will then direct them around it as it is no fun trying to repair a damaged net or trying to clear it from your propellor.

As the fish are being gilled you are able to see the corks bobbing in the water as the fish struggles to free itself. If lots of fish are being caught the corks will eventually start to sink from the weight of the fish. After a period of time the fisherman will then reattach one end of the net to the drum and will begin drumming back. When he comes to a fish he will stop the drum and pick the fish out of the net. If the fish has been in the net for a while he can become very wound up making it hard to extract it.

These nets also catch many other less desirable things such as dogfish which can make a horrible mess of the net. Logs, kelp, garbage and many other things get caught up in the nets.

If after cleaning the net the fisherman likes what he got then he will backset and try again. If the catch wasn't very good he will look for a new spot. These boats have high powered engines and can travel at high speeds so they can cover lots of ground in a short while and do spend a lot of their time travelling the coast to openings at different rivers. They usually only get a couple of days opening in a given area each week.

Go Back to Fishing BC!