Trawling - Other Uses of The Word "trawl"

Other Uses of The Word "trawl"

The noun "trawl" has many possibly confusing meanings in commercial fisheries. For example, two or more lobster pots that are fished together may be referred to as a trawl. In some older usages "trawling" meant "long-line fishing"; that usage occurs in Rudyard Kipling's book Captains Courageous. (This use is perhaps confused with trolling, where a baited line is trailed behind a boat. Troll also has several meanings.)

The word "trawling" has come to be used in a number of non-fishing contexts, usually meaning indiscriminate collection with the intent of picking out the useful bits. For instance, in law enforcement it may refer to collecting large volumes of telephone call records hoping to find calls made by suspects. It also occurs frequently in reference to research methods, where it means searching through written sources for relevant information.