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1 Raw Materials For Netting
1 Raw Materials For Netting
1 Raw Materials For Netting
By Gerard Klust
Linen, hemp and ramie are bast fibres derived from the bast tissues of the stems. Twines
made of these fibres were the material of special nets, for instance, linen for salmon
gillnets, ramie for drift nets in the Asiatic fisheries and hemp for river stownets or
trawlnets in Europe.
1.1.1 ROTTING
Vegetable fibres are parts of dead plants and consist mainly of cellulose. Therefore,
when conditions are humid or when they are immersed in wáter they are attacked by
cellulose digesting micro-organisms, especially bacteria.
This process of decomposition of dead organic material is of vital importance for
maintaining the life cycle because it releases the inorganic nutrients such as phosphorus,
nitrogen, and potassium and makes them available for new plant growth. Thus the
continuity of the life of plants and animals is assured.
Unfortunately, the side effect on fishing nets is a source of increased labour and financial
loss and is the main reason for the advance of synthetic fibres. A micro-photograph of
cotton fibres taken from a used fishing net (Figure 1) shows the damage (corrosion)
caused by cellulose-decomposing bacteria. (FIGURE I. Micro-photograph of cotton
fibres taken from a used fishing net, showing corrosion caused by microorganisms. X =
undamaged fibres. (For better visibility of the damage the fibres have been swollen by
caustic soda.)
There is a direct relation between the number of corroded fibres in a cotton netting yarn
and its loss in breaking strength so that determining by microscope the percentage of
damaged fibres is an effective means for judging the state of decomposition and the
remaining usefulness of cotton yarn or netting.
The four factors mainly determining the speed of decay of cellulose fibres are:
kind of fibre,
water temperature,
rotting power of the water,
duration of immersion in water.
The resistance of the various kinds of vegetable fibre against rotting differs, and
increases in the following order: linen, hemp, ramie, cotton, sisal, manila and coir.
However, with regard to practical use in fishing these differences hardly count at all, and
the resistance to rotting of all (untreated) vegetable fibres must in general be considered
as not adequate.
The activity of the cellulolytic bacteria depends to a great extent on the water
temperature. Consequently during the cold season the decay of vegetable fibres is
considerably slower than during the warm season. In the tropics nets become useless
faster than in temperate climates.
As regards the characteristics of the water, running waters generally have a greater
decaying power than stagnant waters. In fertile marine or fresh water which contains a
high percentage of organic substances, lime and phosphorous (eutrophic water) and
consequently has a high yield of fish, unpreserved nets of vegetable fibres are more
quickly destroyed than in unfertile, clear water. For instance, in the fertile brackish water
of a North Sea harbour (Europe) with a high rotting power, cotton netting yarns
decayed completely within seven to ten days during summer and autumn at 15 to 20C
temperature, and heavier manila netting yarns lost 75 to 85 percent of their breaking
strength within four weeks.
Fishing gear left uninterruptedly in water for a long time is naturally more liable to
rotting than when used only temporarily, and is especially liable to rot if set on the
bottom where the contact zone between the putrid mud and the water has the
strongest rotting power. Rotting is stopped only when nets are completely dried out
even to the inside of the knots.