Trawls are nets towed behind a boat to collect organisms. They can be divided into three categories based on where they sample the water column: surface, midwater, and bottom. They may be divided further by their design and the materials used in their construction.
During the Hidden Ocean 2016: Chukchi Borderlands expedition, scientists used bottom trawls to collect information about benthic fish and invertebrates, collecting organisms from the seafloor in order to analyze their abundance and diversity. This video reviews how a trawl works and the unique challenges presented in the Chukchi Borderlands.
Download SD version (mp4, 49.4 MB).
Download HD version (mp4, 77.0 MB).
Video courtesy of Caitlin Bailey, GFOE, The Hidden Ocean 2016: Chukchi Borderlands.