noun
also purse net
Etymology: purse seine from purse (I) + seine; purse net from Middle English pursnette, from purs purse + nette net
: a large seine designed to be set by two boats around a school of fish and so arranged that after the ends have been brought together the bottom can be closed, ranging typically from 250 to 400 yards in length and from 18 to 20 yards in depth, having the upper edge supported by floats and the lower edge weighted by brass rings through which the purse line passes, and being closed below when the ends of the net have been brought together by the dropping of a heavy lead weight that is attached over pulleys to the ends of the purse line and that by its descent puckers together the bottom of the net
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