Beam Trawls

The early trawlers used a Beam Trawl. This consisted of a triangular-shaped net with the top of the net attached to a beam.

The lower portion of the net would be weighted and allowed to drag along the seabed. The beam, which could be up to 50 feet in length was fixed to two iron frames called shoes which held the beam in position and stopped the net from rising or sinking.

The whole trawl was attached to a warp, which could be over 600ft long, to two rope bridles of around 90 feet in length one attached to each trawl head.

The beam trawl was good for catching flat fish and other fish that lived close to the bottom of the sea.

Over the years this type of trawl became obsolete for larger trawlers though it remains in use on inshore fishing boats and in more recent years its use has been revived on trawlers now known as 'beamers'.