Beam Trawl

a sack-shaped net for catching bottom fish from sailing fishing vessels. Beam trawls began to be used in 1873 and are the prototype of the contemporary trawl. The upper part of the beam trawl is fastened to a beam (a log 15–20 m long and about 0.3 m thick). Metal slides are put on the end of the beam, forming with it the rigid base of the trawl. The beam trawl is towed on a single hawser cable.