Shark on planks. © AMNH   How Sharks Are Caught * on longlines Commercially fished sharks are captured primarily by longlines. Up to 80 miles in length, longlines are set with thousands of baited hooks. They are completely undiscriminating. For example, although the federal government set limits on the catch of large coastal sharks in 1993, longlines continue to catch sharks after the legal quota has been met. These sharks must be discarded, and many die. * in nets Large nets set on the seabed, called gill nets, also catch sharks by entangling them at their gills. Some small schooling sharks are captured by giant bottom trawl nets. Deep-water trawls and drift nets many miles long--still used although no longer legal if longer than two kilometers--often unintentionally catch large numbers of open-ocean-dwelling sharks as well.      2 of 7