Crab trawl net

Pomeranian fishermen were not only occupied by fishing, but they also hunted other animals living in the freshwater areas and the Baltic Sea. For this purpose, they used specially adapted tools. One of them is a wingless net called krabon used for crabbing, that were then used as bait. Depending on the region, this tool was also referred to as krabnik, krabuncznik, krabunszcz, krabecz or krabownik. It is a type of net with small loops, stretched over an arched wooden frame. In the front part of the frame, three strings are attached, which are then used by the fisherman wading in shallow water to pull the net along the bottom, capturing the animals inside. Similar, but smaller nets, called kidadło were used to catch prawns. In the fishing collection of the Department of Ethnography of the Pomerania of the National Museum in Szczecin there are three krabons. The one on display dates back to the first half of the 20th century.

Agnieszka Słowińska