Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Apr., 1888
Complete Specification Left, 16th Jan., 1989
Complete Specification Accepted, 16th Feb., 1889
FRANCIS COMYN 20 Annandale Street Edinburgh N.B. Landowner Justice of the
Peace &c. do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
It is intended to
1-Avoid destruction of immature fish.
2-Avoid injury to large fish when caught.
3-Avoid loss of fish when caught.
The beam trawl net now in use is a bag widest at its mouth and narrowing to a
purse end of close netting. Into this purse everything, fish large and small, stones,
inud, sand sea weed &c., is swept the large fish being injured the small destroyed in
vast numbers. As shown in the drawings, better in a model, the improved net is
double; the captured fish passing into a wide open space walled with wide meshed
netting through which small fish pass without injury while large fish swim at liberty
with the net.
The valves prevent any escape of large fish either when hauling ceases or when the
net is being raised to the surface. At present many are thus lost of the less injured
fish and, with the unhurt fish caught by the improved net, such losses would be very
serious.
The draft too is on rope, not on the netting as now.
For the complete novelty of the invention the inventor is permitted to refer to
Professor Ewart, Regius Professor of Natural History Edinburgh, Commissioner of
Scottish Fisheries. A net on the model has been inade for the "Garland" steam
trawler yacht belonging to the Fishery Board for Scotland and will be used when
protection is granted. Though mostly for beam trawling the net can be used for other
purposes and the actual construction of the wood framed valve; as shown in drawing,
framed without morticing; is a novelty.
Fig. I. general view (perspective) of net in motion A outer net B. inner net.
C pockets D. entry. Both automatic valves open.
Fig. II. side view of net stopped. E automatic valve open with F restraining cords
H automatic valve (netting) closed.

page_text: Fig. III. side view of net being lifted.
Fig. IV. automatic valve E. K cork
Fig. V. automatic valve (netting.
Both automatic valves closed.
L. L wood M metal D netting.
Fig. VI. construction of frame automatic valve E P. passing bent S wood III. shows
rope netting not defined to avoid confusion.
I FRANCIS COMYN, 20 Annandale Street, Edinburgh, N.B., Landowner, Justice of
the Peace &c., do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-
This Invention relates to fishing nets for beam trawling and other purposes the
improved net being so formed as to avoid capture and destruction of immature fish
and injury to the large fish taken whilst preventing loss of the latter after being
caught in the net.
As represented in the accompanying drawings in the perspective view figure 1 and
in side elevation at figure 2 the improved net is duplex, that is to say, it is composed
of an inner bag-like piece of netting A laced to the beam B (or to the outer net C
and to the ground rope E) and resembling an ordinary beam trawl net, and an outer
notting best attached to a rope framework C of box like or other form and to the
beam B and ground rope E and enclosing the net A whose underside is or may be
formed by part of the outer net. The top or sides of the inner net A converge from
the open mouth formed in proximity to the beam towards the rear where they
terminate in an orifice D which may be fitted with an automatically closing valve-
The inner net. A is made of fine mesh and serves to catch fish of all sizes but the outer
net which is of large size is made of a larger mesh which may be set square or
made in an oblong form so that the drag on the net instead of tending to close the
mesh stretches it out and whilst immature fish passing into the outer net may freely
escape, mature fish are retained and owing to the comparatively large size and form
of the net may swim within it. Within the outer netting inclined partitions C² of
netting extending from the sides towards the rear but not quite meeting are formed
for the purpose of trapping the fish caught and preventing their egress by swimming
through the orifice D. The inner net may be formed by two or more of such partitions
situated in proximity to the mouth of the outer net.

page_text: To provide for readily removing fish from the net when hauled in the rear end or
part of it may be made to open up in any convenient way for example by connecting
the sides of an orifice extending entirely or partly across the lower rear end of the
outer net by knitted loops or making it of two or more pieces united together by a
looped cord which may be readily drawn out to open up the end.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is
1. A duplex net for beam trawling or other purposes formed substantially as
herein before described.
2. A net for beam trawling or other purposes composed of an outer closed netting
for retaining fish and an inner netting opening thereinto substantially as hereinbefore
described.