Working on the net

A wet and windy day.  Some new old photos have appeared in the local history centre, taken around the turn of the 20th century. I liked this one in particular, showing people using a seine net on the beach. It's a long strip of fishing net with floats along the top and weights along the bottom to make it  hang vertically in the water.

"Success of this method relies on fishermen keeping a constant eye on their local bays and beaches for shoals of fish. Once a shoal is seen within a few hundred metres of shore the net is prepared and people are called down to the shore. At each end of the net there is a long length of rope.  Many hands are required to manually haul the net into shore. One of the ropes is held by a shore team and the net (which has been carefully folded into a net box) is and carried by rowing punt off the beach, with the crewman paying out the rope as it goes. Once out far enough the net is shot in a large semi-circle around or through the shoal. The boat then returns to the beach bringing with it the other rope.  By hauling in the ropes the net is slowly brought into the shore."

This looks like a small version operated by men and women whose long skirts are soaking up the water. This same fishing technique has been employed the world over from the Arctic to the Antipodes for many thousands of years.