A gillnet is a type of fishing net, a type of which is the driftnet (which is a drifting gillnet - i.e. it is cast into the sea without being anchored to anything). The net is designed so that the fish being targeted are able to get their head into the gap between the strands, but not their body. When the fish enters and then tries to get out, the net snags the gill covers, causing the fish to become trapped. The net does allow smaller fish to pass through unharmed, but poses a danger to larger fish, and to marine mammals.

Because of their indiscriminate nature, and a growing concern for the plight of Whales and Dolphins, gillnets were banned by the United Nations in 1993.

External Links

• Manual on estimation of selectivity for gillnet and longline gears in abundance surveys - report for Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, 2000.
• Gillnet Fishing - from Canada's Digital Collections.