[noun] [C]A trawl or trawl net is a large cone-shaped net pulled through the sea at a deep level behind a special boat in order to catch fish.(figurative) We did a wide trawl (= searched among a lot of people) to find the right person to play the part.
TRAWL
Meaning of TRAWL in English
Cambridge English vocab. Кембриджский английский словарь. 2012