seiner

Seiner is a term used in commercial fishing to denote a person who operates a seine net, or a vessel designed to perform seining. Seining is a method in which a long wall of net is used to encircle a school of fish and then closed to trap them.

A purse seines deploys a large net with a drawstring or purse line along the bottom. After surrounding the school, the purse line is pulled tight, forming a pouch that traps the fish, and the net is hauled aboard by winches and lines. Ring and Danish seines use different gear arrangements to enclose the catch, while beach seines operate in shallow, nearshore waters.

Seiners harvest a range of schooling species, including tuna, sardines, mackerel, herring, and anchovy. Purse seining is especially common for open-ocean schooling fish, whereas Danish and ring seines are more often used in coastal and upwelling regions. The choice of gear depends on target species, water depth, weather, and local regulations.

Historically, seining has roots in traditional coastal fishing and expanded with mechanization in the 19th and 20th centuries. Modern seine fleets range from small family boats to large industrial vessels. Management measures—such as seasonal closures, bycatch reduction, gear modification, and catch limits—seek to balance economic value with conservation objectives.