Illustration of purse seine
: 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
purse sein·er
1
or less commonly purse boat
: a usually power-driven fishing boat equipped or used for fishing with a purse seine
2
: a fisherman who uses a purse seine : a member of the crew of a purse seiner
Examples of purse seine in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Julia Amberger, Nanni Fontana, Marzio Mian, & Nicola Scevola (tr. Elettra Pauletto), The Dial, 3 Apr. 2025
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
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
The fishermen use purse seine nets that can be 300 feet in diameter.
—Tom Yulsman, Discover Magazine, 2 Mar. 2020
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Noun
Some of these fish are caught in large nets, called purse seines, and dragged for thousands of miles to giant cages, where they are fattened up like geese for foie gras.
—Julia Amberger, Nanni Fontana, Marzio Mian, & Nicola Scevola (tr. Elettra Pauletto), The Dial, 3 Apr. 2025
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
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
The fishermen use purse seine nets that can be 300 feet in diameter.
—Tom Yulsman, Discover Magazine, 2 Mar. 2020
Cite this Entry
“Purse seine.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/purse%20seine. Accessed 12 Jun. 2026.
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