A fishing method using a net that hangs in the water with weighted bottom edge and top edge buoyed by floats. Purse seine is a large wall of netting that encircles schools of fish and is then drawn tight at the bottom to capture them.
Imagine trying to gather all your loose change that has scattered around the bottom of your bag. Similar to how you might use your hands to form a makeshift barrier to scoop up the coins, a purse seine uses a net to encircle and capture fish. Just like your hands create a barrier with a weighted bottom (your palms) and a buoyant top (your fingers curving upward), the purse seine net has a weighted edge that sinks to form a wall in the water and a buoyed top edge that floats, efficiently gathering fish inside.
