Trawls

A trawl is a large net that is pulled through the water column or along the seabed. This fishing gear is typically used to catch fish or shrimp. Catching unwanted species is a problem for trawlers because it is a very indiscriminant form of fishing. Trawling can occur with one boat pulling a net or cooperatively by two boats, each pulling an end of a much larger trawl net.

Sharks are often caught as bycatch in trawl fisheries and are subsequently thrown overboard, often dead or injured.