A lampara net is a type of

fishing net A fishing net or fish net is a net (device), net used for fishing. Fishing nets work by serving as an improvised fish trap, and some are indeed rigged as traps (e.g. #Fyke nets, fyke nets). They are usually wide open when deployed (e.g. by cast ...

. It is a

surrounding net A surrounding net is a fishing net which surrounds fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking ...

having the shape of a

spoon A spoon (, ) is a utensil consisting of a shallow bowl (also known as a head), oval or round, at the end of a handle. A type of cutlery (sometimes called flatware in the United States), especially as part of a table setting, place setting, it ...

or a

dustpan A dustpan, the small version of which is also known as a "hearth brush and shovel” (from its use of cleaning the fireplace hearth), is a cleaning utensil. The dustpan is commonly used in combination with a broom or long brush. The small dustpa ...

with a short leadline under a longer floatline. The net has a central bunt to contain the fish and two lateral wings.Lampara nets
Fishing gear type: Fact sheet. FAO/FIIT. Retrieved 13 March 2012. Lampara nets are used for capturing

pelagic fish Pelagic fish live in the pelagic zone of ocean or lake waters—being neither close to the bottom nor near the shore—in contrast with demersal fish that live on or near the bottom, and reef fish that are associated with coral reefs. ...

, those swimming near the water's surface. They are often used in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

, the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

to catch

sardine Sardine and pilchard are common names for various species of small, oily forage fish in the herring suborder Clupeoidei. The term "sardine" was first used in English during the early 15th century; a somewhat dubious etymology says it com ...

s. In

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

they are used for anchoveta and

mackerel Mackerel is a common name applied to a number of different species of pelagic fish, mostly from the family Scombridae. They are found in both temperate and tropical seas, mostly living along the coast or offshore in the oceanic environment. ...

s and in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

for sea breams and

flying fish The Exocoetidae are a family (biology), family of Saltwater fish, marine Actinopterygii, ray-finned fish in the order (biology), order Beloniformes, known colloquially as flying fish or flying cod. About 64 species are grouped in seven genus, ge ...

. They are used in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

to catch eastern sea garfish (''

Hyporhamphus ''Hyporhamphus'' is a genus of halfbeaks. The species in this genus are distributed throughout the warmer seas of the world, most species being Indo-Pacific and there are some freshwater species. Species There are currently 37 recognized species ...

australis''). In

South Florida South Florida, sometimes colloquially shortened to SoFlo, is the Regions of the United States#Florida, southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the two others are ...

in the US lampara nets are used to catch

ballyhoo The ballyhoo halfbeak, ballyhoo, balahu, redtailed balao or yellowtail ballyhoo (''Hemiramphus brasiliensis'') is a baitfish of the halfbeak family (Hemiramphidae). It is similar to the Balao halfbeak (''H. balao'') in most features. Some are us ...

(''Hemiramphus brasiliensis'') and balao (''H. balao''), which are used as

bait fish 300px, Feeder Goldfish are common baitfish. Bait fish (or baitfish) are small-sized fish caught and used by anglers as bait to attract larger predatory fish, particularly game fish. Baitfish species are typically those that are common and bre ...

by anglers. The fishery for

opalescent inshore squid ''Doryteuthis opalescens'', the opalescent inshore squid or market squid, is a small species of squid in the family Loliginidae. It is a myopsid squid, a near shore group with corneas over their eyes. The species is found in the eastern Pacific O ...

(''Doryteuthis opalescens'') in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

became successful after

Italian immigrants The Italian diaspora (, ) is the large-scale emigration of Italians from Italy. There were two major Italian diasporas in Italian history. The first diaspora began around 1880, two decades after the Unification of Italy, and ended in the 1920s ...

introduced the lampara net there in 1905.Vojkovich, M. (1998)
The California fishery for market squid (''Loligo opalescens'').
''California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations Report'' 39, 55-60. These nets are often utilized on

fishing vessel A fishing vessel is a boat or ship used to fishing, catch fish and other valuable nektonic aquatic animals (e.g. shrimps/prawns, krills, coleoids, etc.) in the sea, lake or river. Humans have used different kinds of surface vessels in commercial ...

s 9 to 18 meters long with 50 to 150 horsepower engines. The nets are hauled in by hand by a team of crewmembers pulling the lateral wings. The fish are removed with a smaller net or a scoop.

References

{{fisheries and fishing Fishing nets