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Shrimping

Shrimp boats (or shrimpboats) are specialized fishing boats that are specifically designed for shrimping, catching both shrimp and prawns in their nets or traps. Commercial shrimping is a significant industry for many regions worldwide, including the Gulf of Mexico, the Pacific Northwest, southeast Asia and the Gulf of Thailand. 

The most common type of shrimper is the trawler, which pulls a net through the water as it cruises slowly through bays, gulfs or open seas. Seines, or seine nets, which surround then envelope and contain a school of shrimp, can also be used as well as cast nets, while baits and traps are common shrimp fishing techniques in some regions. 

Shrimp trawlers often use a style of fishing net known as an otter net (or otter trawler). This type of conical net is held open by a combination of floats at the top and weights at the bottom as it moves through the water, scooping everything it catches into its long reservoir. Unwanted catch other than shrimp is known as bycatch, which is usually returned to the sea. In the U.S., shrimp boats (as well as the shrimp trawlers of fleets which sell their catch to the United States) now use a variety of bycatch excluder devices to reduce the amount of undesired catch and safeguard other species of fish and sea turtles. Such devices include grates through which shrimp pass but fish do not, or the turtle excluder device, which allows sea turtles to swim safely away from the net.