[1] Hand nets have been used since antiquity for catching fish near the surface of the water, especially feisty, powerful ones such as muskellunge or northern pike.
There are popular contemporary dip net sockeye salmon fisheries in Chitina, Kenai River and Kasilof River, typically lasting two to three weeks, and is regarded as a subsistence fishery for Alaskan residents only.
Dip nets can also be used to scoop crabs in shallow water.
Small fish are caught both in the shallow water of lagoons and in the open sea.
[3][4] Historically, the Karuk people of the upper Klamath River harvested fish with dip nets.