Thanks to Paul Monfils for a very informative piece on dredging!
 
Long ago and far away, while engaged in deepsea work, I ran across late
19th-century references to an apparatus that consisted of a T-bar with many
strands of frayed rope attached, rather like a large push-broom. This was
trawled on the bottom to collect echinoderms, which would get caught in the
strands of rope. (Presumably it was only used on soft bottoms, where the
ropes would not snag on rocks.) This was used, for instance, in the
Challenger expedition, a famous British expedition that spent several years
exploring the world's deep-sea floor. I saw no recent references to this
kind of trawl. Does anyone on Conch-L have experience with it?
 
Andrew K. Rindsberg
Geological Survey of Alabama
 
P.S. I thoroughly enjoyed the sea monster stories, by the way. Thanks!