Comments:Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, Maritime fishermen were renowned for their self-reliance. Knitting fishnets or lobster potheads was one of their many skills. The tradition of knitting as well as mending was passed on from fathers to sons, many of whom were youngsters when they first learned this technique. Making handmade fishnets required some basic tools, most notably "shuttles" or "net needles" carved from wood, as well as a variety of rounded, wooden blocks of diverse dimensions. These blocks served as measurements to gauge the size of the mesh, which varied according to the type of fish harvested. Sometimes fishermen improvised their own techniques. For example, a box of Red Bird matches or a piece of lath sufficed when regulating mesh size. Well into the 20th century, fishing nets were made of tightly spun wool or cotton twine. By the 1940s, fishermen increasingly turned to synthetic fibres for their nets. Before they were placed in the water, they were amply soaked in a hot tanning solution derived from either spruce buds or catechuic resin, popularly referred to as "cutch". This mixture made the nets more resistant to rotting and retarded the growth of algae. According to Barrington historian Hattie Perry, the tan pots tended to be large and could hold five or six nets at a time. The cutch-covered nets were later dried in the sun.

The art of knitting fishnets has not been totally lost in Maritime Canada. Most modern-day fishermen can mend their own nets. However, the machine-made net, introduced in the 1930s, has totally replaced its handmade counterpart. Even the wooden shuttle has been supplanted by the plastic needle.

CommentsThis round basket was purchased at a local flea market. It is made primarily of ash. The splints are woven in a plaited fashion creating an open weave. No nails were used in its construction; the woven strips are lashed to a round hoop of wood. The design bears all the hallmarks of native basketry techniques.

This type of basket was used for at least one purpose: collecting shellfish. Fishermen used them when harvesting and carrying clams and oysters. The basket's weave was small enough to hold, wash and drain the shellfish at the same time.