purse seine

noun

: a large seine designed to be set by two boats around a school of fish and so arranged that after the ends have been brought together the bottom can be closed
purse seiner noun
purse seining noun

Illustration of purse seine

Illustration of purse seine

Examples of purse seine in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web With some exceptions ** Tuna caught in the Atlantic or Pacific with purse seines without FADs is a Good Alternative. Martha Shade, CNN, 16 Sep. 2023 Tuna caught with purse seines with FADs or by any fishing method in the Indian Ocean should be avoided. Martha Shade, CNN, 16 Sep. 2023 Here is how they’re sourced: Wild: There are bluefin tuna that are caught in the wild in a number of ways, from purse seine (a large netting), to trolling (luring through lines of bait) and harpoon gear. Jean Trinh, Los Angeles Times, 3 May 2023 The fishermen use purse seine nets that can be 300 feet in diameter. Tom Yulsman, Discover Magazine, 2 Mar. 2020 But these purse seine nets also captured other species — notably, dolphins and sea turtles. Michael A. Gardiner, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 June 2022 Mike Conroy, president of West Coast Fisheries Consultants, works with purse seine and gillnet operators off California. Caleb Jones, Anchorage Daily News, 27 May 2021 Even those with legal clearance are often armed with longlines or destructive purse seine nets that let nothing escape. Adam Skolnick, Longreads, 10 Aug. 2020 According to records provided by the fisheries department, there are 1285 trawl boats, 57 purse seine boats, and 1487 mechanised gill nets and other boats registered in south Karnataka. Supriya Vohra, Quartz India, 18 Feb. 2020

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'purse seine.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1838, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of purse seine was in 1838

Dictionary Entries Near purse seine

Cite this Entry

“Purse seine.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/purse%20seine. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

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