Gear

A prawner's beam trawl formed the 'mouth' of a long net bag which caught the shrimps, flatfish, crabs and other creatures living on the seabed. They are still used today. In the mid-20th century otter boards (or 'doors') were introduced for fish trawling. These are large plates rigged on each side of the net mouth. As the net was towed along they planed outwards in the water and so kept the mouth of the net open to its maximum extent