The seine net was about eight feet (three meters) broad and hundreds of feet long. It was suspended in the water like a net fence, kept afloat by corks, and weighted down with stone weights to keep it vertical. Either a single boat would make a huge circle with the net, or two boats would suspends the net between them and make a sweep toward the shore. When the net was in a tight circle, It was possible to pull in the lower rope so that the net formed a huge bag from which the fish could not escape.