A lay-net is a general term of a net that catches fish by letting its head get through the mesh but not its body. When the fish tries to get out the net strings get caught on the head and the fish is stuck.

A lay-net is like a gillnet that stands up like a fence with floats on the top and weights on

the sides. If the mesh is too small it will catch the young fish. One problem with lay-nets is that it catches everything and anything that swims into the net.

One of the lay-net fishing method is called paipai (pai means "to s slap" in Hawaiian) which is when a long stick is used to slap the water to scare the fish into the net. Another method is called moemoe (moe means sleep in Hawaiian) where the net is left overnight.