# How do fisherman catch only the fish they want? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 25, 2009, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-fisherman-catch-only-the-fish-they-want/497529 "2009-05-25T03:50:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Jimpy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c68b51/32.png) [@Jimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimpy)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2009, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-fisherman-catch-only-the-fish-they-want/497529/21 "2009-05-25T23:38:57Z")
You also must remember you see only a very small fraction of the pots that are pulled up. I’m guessing less than 2% of the total pots are shown on tv. Even so I’ve seen them one full of females that all had to be thrown back, they spun the pot around and flipped the launcher and shook them out into the ocean rather than on the table. They sometimes catch fish, they use it for bait. Once and a whole you see an empty pot pulled up and they show you a snail or starfish or even the wrong type of crab. But these are rare because you can kinda predict which type of crab will be where from years of experience. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2009, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-fisherman-catch-only-the-fish-they-want/497529/22 "2009-05-26T00:41:38Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > I think pots is just the slang term they use for the crab traps. I have never seen them talk about why they use pots rather than traps. Why would you assume “crab trap” is more correct than “crab pot”? A simple Google search indicates “crab pot” is preferred over “crab trap” by a margin of over 50%. I suppose the philistines may just out number the purists, but common usage counts for something. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2009, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-fisherman-catch-only-the-fish-they-want/497529/23 "2009-05-26T00:43:41Z")
‘Pot’ is short for ‘potential’. Crab pots are called so because originally they were ‘potential crab traps’ back in the days before they were refined to the point where they could exclude some of the things that might crawl in. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2009, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-fisherman-catch-only-the-fish-they-want/497529/24 "2009-05-26T00:44:44Z")
. I am a liar. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2009, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-fisherman-catch-only-the-fish-they-want/497529/25 "2009-05-26T00:46:04Z")
To a regular guy like me I think of a device used to trap animals as a trap. But that is based on no special knowledge of the fishing industry. I just remember the first time I saw the show thinking the term pot was not what I was expecting to hear. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2009, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-fisherman-catch-only-the-fish-they-want/497529/26 "2009-05-26T01:57:58Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > . > > I am a liar. > > 😃 You’re a pretty good one, though! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2009, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-fisherman-catch-only-the-fish-they-want/497529/27 "2009-05-26T02:48:13Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > ‘Pot’ is short for ‘potential’. Crab pots are called so because originally they were ‘potential crab traps’ back in the days before they were refined to the point where they could exclude some of the things that might crawl in. Oh now I think this is BS. The smaller Dungeness crab pots are round. The term crab pot is a historical term that has been carried on as the technology has advanced. Please show some reference to pot as a shorthand for potential in regard to crab fishing. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2009, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-fisherman-catch-only-the-fish-they-want/497529/28 "2009-05-26T02:56:39Z")
See also Lobster pots: > **[Lobster trap](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lobster_trap)** > > A lobster trap or lobster pot is a portable trap that traps lobsters or crayfish and is used in lobster fishing. In Scotland (chiefly in the north), the word creel is used to refer to a device used to catch lobsters and other crustaceans. A lobster trap can hold several lobsters. Lobster traps can be constructed of wire and wood, or metal and netting or rigid plastic. An opening permits the lobster to enter a tunnel of netting or other one-way device. Pots are sometimes constructed in two parts, ... ---
**Author:** ![Ace309](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ace309/32/1050_2.png) [@Ace309](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ace309)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2009, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-fisherman-catch-only-the-fish-they-want/497529/29 "2009-05-26T03:01:06Z")
He cited it [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=11176906&postcount=24). ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2009, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-fisherman-catch-only-the-fish-they-want/497529/30 "2009-05-26T03:02:17Z")
> [@Ace309](#): > > He cited it [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=11176906&postcount=24). 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2009, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-fisherman-catch-only-the-fish-they-want/497529/31 "2009-05-26T03:10:17Z")
Sorry, I must be confused. I thought this was the General Questions section. Save comedy for the other threads. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2009, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-fisherman-catch-only-the-fish-they-want/497529/32 "2009-05-26T03:21:53Z")
> [@ghardester](#): > > Sorry, I must be confused. I thought this was the General Questions section. Save comedy for the other threads. Please read the [Forum Rules](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=466202): > [@Gfactor](#): > > We tolerate some joking… If you want to be funny while contributing to the thread, go for it. (Reading the thread before posting is also helpful.) ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2009, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-fisherman-catch-only-the-fish-they-want/497529/33 "2009-05-26T03:46:44Z")
> [@ghardester](#): > > Sorry, I must be confused. I thought this was the General Questions section. Save comedy for the other threads. It’s also the Straight Dope. There’s no problem with a bit of joking around, once the question has had some substantive responses. ---
**Author:** ![Auntbeast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Auntbeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Auntbeast)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2009, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-fisherman-catch-only-the-fish-they-want/497529/34 "2009-05-26T03:58:14Z")
Crab pot is more common than crab trap? I just moved away from Florida where the running joke was to get rid of a body is to put it in a crab trap. I’m in the Blue Ridge Mountains now, not sure how we dispose of bodies here. Although I suspect coyotes and black bear figure prominently. No, I have no particular reason for wanting to know how to ditch the bodies. I swear! ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2009, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-fisherman-catch-only-the-fish-they-want/497529/35 "2009-05-26T04:26:55Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > It’s also the Straight Dope. There’s no problem with a bit of joking around, once the question has had some substantive responses. Hey, I have read the forum rules. I just think that if we are going into frivoluos territory it detracts from the idea of staying in General Questions, which should be the area of the straight facts. Carry on as you see fit. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2009, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-fisherman-catch-only-the-fish-they-want/497529/36 "2009-05-26T04:55:03Z")
When you say, if the boat is in the middle of the ocean the fish is discarded, I am assuming that means it’s thrown overboard into the sea. Is this correct? If so do gulls and dolphins follow these boats hoping to get a free meal. I realize gulls don’t live in the middle of the oceans but I was thinking maybe a tern or albatross is migrating and see the ship do this and then they learn “gee easy food.” ---
**Author:** ![fluiddruid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fluiddruid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fluiddruid)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2009, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-fisherman-catch-only-the-fish-they-want/497529/37 "2009-05-26T13:05:22Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > When you say, if the boat is in the middle of the ocean the fish is discarded, I am assuming that means it’s thrown overboard into the sea. > > Is this correct? > > If so do gulls and dolphins follow these boats hoping to get a free meal. I realize gulls don’t live in the middle of the oceans but I was thinking maybe a tern or albatross is migrating and see the ship do this and then they learn “gee easy food.” I’ve never seen it addressed but, on Deadliest Catch, the boats always seem to have a huge number of gulls following them, even if they’re far out to sea. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2009, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-fisherman-catch-only-the-fish-they-want/497529/38 "2009-05-26T14:08:26Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > When you say, if the boat is in the middle of the ocean the fish is discarded, I am assuming that means it’s thrown overboard into the sea. > > Is this correct? > > If so do gulls and dolphins follow these boats hoping to get a free meal. I realize gulls don’t live in the middle of the oceans but I was thinking maybe a tern or albatross is migrating and see the ship do this and then they learn “gee easy food.” Albatrosses and other seabirds will follow ships over very long distances. Fishing boats are often surrounded by a cloud of gulls. ---
**Author:** ![butler1850](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@butler1850](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butler1850)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2009, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-fisherman-catch-only-the-fish-they-want/497529/39 "2009-05-26T14:59:34Z")
> [@Auntbeast](#): > > Crab pot is more common than crab trap? I just moved away from Florida where the running joke was to get rid of a body is to put it in a crab trap. > > I’m in the Blue Ridge Mountains now, not sure how we dispose of bodies here. Although I suspect coyotes and black bear figure prominently. > > No, I have no particular reason for wanting to know how to ditch the bodies. I swear! In the back hills, it’s pigs. Then you turn the pig, into bacon. Everyone wins. You get rid of your troubles, and turn it into bacon… and who doesn’t like bacon? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-fisherman-catch-only-the-fish-they-want/497529.md?page=1)