DEAS 970 : 2019  
ICS 65.150  
 
© EAC 2019                                                                                                                               First Edition 2019   
 DRAFT EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  
Fishing gill nets  — Specification  
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY  DEAS 970 : 2019 
ii © EAC 2019 – All rights  reserved  
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Reproduction for sales purposes may be subject to royalty payments or a licensing agreement.  
Violators may be prosecuted . DEAS 970: 201 9 
© EAC 2019 – All rights reserved  iii 
 Contents  Page 
Foreword  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................  iv 
1 Scope  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ......................  1 
2 Normative references  ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................  1 
3 Terms and definitions  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........................  1 
4 Requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .........  2 
4.1 Twines ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .....................  2 
4.2 Dimensional stability of mesh  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..............  2 
4.3 Mesh size  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ................  2 
4.4 Length and depth  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .. 2 
4.5 Linear density  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ........  2 
4.6 Breaking strength of twine  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................  2 
4.7 Elongation at break  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............................  2 
4.8 Mesh breaking load  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............................  3 
5. Packaging  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............  4 
6 Labelling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .................  4 
Annex  A (normative)  Measurement of mesh size  ................................ ................................ ..........................  5 
A.1 Principle  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .................  5 
A.2 Apparatus  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............  5 
A.3 Preparation  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .............  5 
A.4 Procedure  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............  5 
A.5 Calculation and expressi on of results  ................................ ................................ ................................  5 
Annex  B (normative)  Determination of Linear density of twines  ................................ ................................ . 7 
B.1 Principle  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .................  7 
B.2 Apparatus  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............  7 
B.3 Preparation  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .............  7 
B.4 Procedure  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............  7 
B.5 Calculation  and expression  of results  ................................ ................................ ................................ . 7 
Annex  C (normative)  Determination of breaking strength of twine  ................................ .............................  8 
C.1 Principle  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .................  8 
C.2 Preparation  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .............  8 
C.3 Procedure  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............  8 
C.4 Calculat ion and expression  of results  ................................ ................................ ................................ . 8 
Bibliography  ................................ ................................ ................................ ............ Error! Bookmark not defined.  
 DEAS 970 : 2019 
iv © EAC 2019 – All rights  reserved  
 Foreword  
Development of the East African Standards has been necessitated by the need f or harmonizing requirements 
governing quality of products and services in the East African Community. It is envisaged that through 
harmonized standardization, trade barriers that are encountered when goods and services are exchanged 
within the Community wi ll be removed.  
The Community has established an East African Standards Committee  (EASC)  mandated to develop and 
issue East African Standards  (EAS) . The Committee is composed of representatives of the National 
Standards Bodies in Partner States, together w ith the representatives from the public and private sector 
organizations  in the community .  
East African Standards are developed through  Technical Committees that are representative of key 
stakeholders including government, academia, consumer groups, priva te sector and other interested parties. 
Draft East African Standards are circulated to stakeholders through the National Standards Bodies in the 
Partner States. The comments received are discussed and incorporated before finalization of standards, in 
accor dance with the Principles and procedures for development of East African Standards.  
East African Standards are subject to review, to keep pace with technological advances. Users of the East 
African Standards are therefore expected to ensure that they alwa ys have the latest versions of the standards 
they are implementing .  
The committee responsible  for this document is Technical Committee EASC /TC 061, Textile, Textile products 
and Accessories  
 DRAFT EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  DEAS 970 :2019 
 
© EAC 2019 – All rights reserved  1 
 Fishing gill nets  — Specification  
1 Scope   
This Draft East Afri can Standard specifies the requirements and methods of test for fishing gill nets . 
2 Normative references   
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content constitutes 
requirements of this document.  For da ted references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, 
the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.  
ISO 1805 , Fishing nets  — Determination of breaking force and knot breaking force of netting yarns  
ISO 1973 , Textile fibres  — Determination of linear density — Gravimetric method and vibroscope method  
ISO 5079 , Textile fibres — Determination of breaking force and elongation at break of individual fibres  
ISO 16373 -1, Textiles — Dyestuffs — Part 1: General pr inciples of testing coloured textiles for dyestuff 
identification  
ISO 16373 -2, Textiles — Dyestuffs — Part 2: General method for the determination of extractable dyestuffs 
including allergenic and carcinogenic dyestuffs (method using pyridine -water)  
ISO 16 373-3, Textiles — Dyestuffs — Part 3: Method for determination of certain carcinogenic dyestuffs 
(method using triethylamine/methanol)  
3 Terms and definitions   
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.  
ISO and IEC mainta in terminological databases for use in standardization at the following 
addresses:  
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at http://www.iso.org/obp  
3.1  
half mesh  
distance from the centre of one knot to the centre of the next knot in the square mesh  
3.2  
full mesh  
distance from the centre of one knot to the next in the diagonally stretched mesh state  
3.3  
knot  
point of connecting, overlapping of crossing of the net   
2 © EAC 2019 – All rights  reserved  
 3.4  
twine  
product of one twisting operation embrac ing two or more single yarns  
3.5  
mesh size  
size of spacing between the individual strands of a fishing net or other mesh  
3.6  
competent authority  
ministry in charge of fisheries  
4 Requirements  
4.1 Twines  
The twines  used  in the manufacture  of fishing  nets shall be made  of synthetic  multifilament  fibres.  
4.2 Dimensional stability of mesh  
The twine  used  in the manufacture  of fishing  nets shall not shrink or stretch  by more  than 3 % after  immersion  
in saline  water  for 24 h at room temperature.  
4.3 Mesh size  
Mesh size for fishing nets shall comply with the requirements of the relevant legislation  in Partner States . 
The mesh size shall be determined in accordance with Annex A . 
4.4 Length and depth  
The length of the net when stretched shall be 90 m (100 yards) s ubject to a tolerance of 2 % variation and the 
shall  be determined by the competent authority  
4.5 Linear density  
The linear  density  of the twine  shall be as declared  subject  to a tolerance  of 5 % when  determined  in 
accordance  with ISO 1973 . 
4.6 Breaking s trength of twine  
The average  breaking  load of twine  shall be as specified  in Table  1 when  determined  in accordance  with 
Annex  C. Each  individual  test value  shall be at least  90 % of the minimum breaking  strength  given  in Table  1. 
4.7 Elongation at break  
The average  elongation  at break  of the  twine  shall be  as specified in  Table  1 when  determined  in accordance  
with ISO 5079.  No individual  test value  shall be more  than 10 %  of the maximum  given  in Table  1 
Table  1 — Breaking  load of twine  and elongation  at break 
Twine  construction  Breaking  load,  wet*, min 
N Elongation  at break,  wet*, max.  
% Test method   
© EAC 2019 – All rights reserved  3 
 Nylon  multifilament  twine tex/plies :  
25  
30  
 23/2  
 23/6 75 35 ISO 5079  
 23/9 100 40  
 23/21  
 240 40  
Polyethylene :  
115.0   
40  
 42/6  
 42/9 155.0  45 ISO 5079  
 42/12  196.0  50  
 42/24  325 55  
* ”Wet‟ shall mean  that the test specimen  has been  immersed  in seawater  without  wetting  agents  at 25 ºC ± 2 ºC for at least  12 h 
surplus  water  shall be shaken off. 
NOTE  1 kgf = 9.80 N 
 
4.8 Mesh breaking load  
The aver age mesh breaking load of the net shall be as given in Table 2 when determined in accordance with 
ISO 1805 . 
Table  2 — Mesh  breaking  load 
Net construction  Mesh  breaking  load,  wet*,  min. 
N Test method  
Nylon multifilament  nets [Tex x mesh size (mm)]    
 23/2 x 45 30  
 23/6 x  65 80  
 23/6 x  121 90 ISO 1805  
 23/6 x  127 110  
 23/9 x  76 110  
 23/21 x  102 290  
Polyethylene  nets [Tex/plies x  size (mm)]   
90  
 42/6 x  32  
 42/6 x  45 100  
 42/9 x  45 140 ISO 1805  
 42/12 x  45 120  
 42/24 x  152 350  
* “Wet‟ shall mean that the test specimen  has been immersed  in seawater  without wetting  agents  at 25 ºC ± 2 ºC  for at least  12 
h surplus  water  shall be shaken off. 
  
4 © EAC 2019 – All rights  reserved  
 5 Restricted Colorants  
The dyed fishing nets shall be free from listed amines and carcinogenic dyestuffs specified in ISO 16373, 2  & 
3. Dyestuff classes are identified in accordance with ISO 16373 -1 
6. Packaging  
Fishing  nets shall be packed  in suitable packages so  as to prevent  soiling  and damage.  
7 Labelling  
The following  information  shall be legib ly and indelibly marked on  the fishing  gill nets:  
a) name  of the product  shall be “Fishing  gill nets”;  
b) manufacturers  name  or registered  trade  mark;  
c) twine  specification;  
d) fibre content  of the net twine;  
e) nominal  mesh  size; 
f) length  of the net  
g) depth of the net ; 
h) colour of the net; 
i) date of manufacture;  
j) instructions  for care and disposal  of nets  as per country  regulation ; and 
k) country  of manufacture    
© EAC 2019 – All rights reserved  5 
 Annex  A 
(normative)  
 
Measurement of mesh size  
A.1 Principle  
The distance from knot to knot in a square mesh configuratio n or stretched mesh configuration shall be taken 
to give the size of half mesh or full mesh respectively . 
A.2 Apparatus  
One of the following  measuring  devices  shall be used  to measure  mesh  size: 
a) allen  net rule; 
b) hovey  gauge;  
c) selkirk  gauge;  
d) flexible  rule; or 
e) straight  rule. 
A.3 Preparation  
Immerse the fishing net sample in seawater without wetting agents at 25  °C ± 2 °C for at least 12 h. Shake off surplus 
water . 
A.4 Procedure  
A.4.1  Take the distance in millimetres, from the centre of one knot to the next in t he square mesh condition. 
Repeat the measurement for 11 other meshes selected at random.  
A.4.2  Measure the distance in millimetres from the centre of one knot to the next in the stretched mesh state 
using just sufficient force to remove kinks. Repeat the m easurement for 11 other meshes selected at random . 
NOTE  See Figure  A.1. 
A.5 Calculation and expression of results  
A.5.1  Full mesh size is the average of the measurements in A.4.2 . 
A.5.2  Half mesh  size is the average  of measurements  taken  in A.4.1.   
Full mesh size = Half mesh  size times  2. 
NOTE  See Figure  A.1.  
6 © EAC 2019 – All rights  reserved  
  Figure A.1 — Mesh size  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
.  
© EAC 2019 – All rights reserved  7 
 Annex  B 
(normative)  
 
Determination of Linear density of twines  
B.1 Principle  
Certain length of twine shall be weighed in milligrams  and its length in centimetres determined. Its linear 
density shall be calculated from the two measurements.  
B.2 Apparatus  
B.2.1  Weighing  balance , capable  of measuring  in milligrams  
B.2.2  Apparatus  in A.2 above  
B.3 Preparation  
Unravel 10 pieces of twine fr om the netting each measuring at least 15 cm. Apply just sufficient force to remove kinks in 
the twine pieces . 
B.4 Procedure  
B.4.1  Measure the length of each piece in centimetres to the nearest millimetre . 
B.4.2  Measure the mass of each twine piece to the nearest milligram . 
B.5 Calculation  and expression  of results  
B.5.1  Linear  density  of each  twine  piece  in tex shall be calculated  from the following  formula:  
Tex = 100 m/I 
where  
l is the length,  in centimetres,  of the piece;  and 
m is the mass,  in milligrams , of the piece.  
 
B.5.2  Linear density of the netting twine = the average tex of the 10 pieces  
 
 
  
8 © EAC 2019 – All rights  reserved  
 Annex  C 
(normative)  
 
Determination of breaking strength of twine  
C.1 Principle  
A piece of twine is subjected to tensile loading until it breaks. The load at wh ich it breaks shall be noted and recorded as 
breaking strength . 
C.2 Preparation  
Retrieve  the twine  pieces  used  in Annex B  for this test. 
C.3 Procedure  
Determine the breaking strength of each piece using ISO 5079 but using gauge length of 10 cm . 
C.4 Calcula tion and expression  of results  
C.4.1  Take the average breaking strength of the 10 twine pieces.  
C.4.2  The breaking strength of the netting twine shall be the average in C.4.1 . 
 DEAS 970: 2019   
 
© EAC 2019 – All rights reserved