A pot is designed in the form of cages or baskets, small or large (with dimensions ranging from around half a meter to two), made from various materials (wood, wicker, metal rods, wire netting, plastic etc.). They might have one or more openings or entrances. Most of the pots are set on the bottom, while a few models are designed to be in mid-water. Pots are used with or without bait, depending on the target species. The bait is composed usually by pieces of fish, but also common is the use of artificial flavourished baits. Pots are frequently set in rows.
Target species are crab, lobster and octopus.
The size of the mesh (diamond plastic or square wire) or the distance between the slats are making, to a certain extent, a selection letting the smallest individual to escape; in addition, in more and more fisheries, a regulation imposes that an “escape panel” is included on one side of the pot. When a pot is lost, it may continue to fish for some time; this is known as “Ghost fishing”; it will be limited if, at least a part of the pot is made from biodegradable material.
Source: FAO site, 2017