Net making

Because the cotton twine would rot if left in its natural state, and because of the time involved in making nets, fishermen coated the twine with lime or tar. Spot and mullet nets, also called gill nets, were coated in lime. Pound nets, which stayed in the water for extended periods of time, were soaked in tar. Fishermen usually tarred the net in the winter, spread it out to dry for two or three days, and then brought the net to the water for the rest of the year.

Of course nets would not float by themselves, so fishermen had to make buoy devices to string on the ends of the net. These little buoys were corks, which the fisherman would make with the bark of a gum tree root, which the fishermen would chop off the tree, shape and let dry before attaching them to the net.

Source:
Cecelski, David. "Wesley Goodwin: Knitting and Hanging Net." The News and Observer, 12 Aug. 2001, 10D.

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