A glance at a map of Japan shows how rich the lands are in rivers, lakes and lagoons. It is easy to say that all of them contain some Atyid shrimps and Palaemonoid prawns and that these are used by the people for food and fishing bait. At least five methods of fishing these animals are familiarly employed in Japan. l) The small scoop net known as tamo is used by boys and men in shallow water where the shrimps and prawns can be seen. The frame made of fine wire to which the net is attached is round, and 6 cm. in diameter, and is attached at one end of a small handle of･about 1m. in length. 2) Another familiar way of catching these animals is by hauling a very large scoop net. (Pl, 1, fig. A) The frame to which the deep bag net is attached is semicircular or triangular, and is firmly attached at one end of a long handle. This net is held close to the bottom where it catches the animals. 3) The shiba-zuke consists of a large bundle of tree branches and leaves bound together at their middle and lower parts. (Pl. 1, fig. B) This lowered into the water, and the shrimps and prawns instinctively hide themselves among the branches and leaves. When the bundle is brought to the surface, they still remain attached the branches and leaves, and are then gathered by the fisher laying a scoop net. 4) A fish trap which is used is the ebi-ue, a cylindrical basket made of the split bamboo fences and attached a narrow opening as the mouth, through which the shrimps and prawns enter the basket. (Pl. 1, fig. C, D and Pl. 2 fig. I-K) The narrow opening is guarded by pieces of bamboo which point inward and prevent the animals which once entered the basket from escaping. The trap with some bait put inside is lowered to the bottom and allowed to remain in the water, after which the animals enter to feed on the bait, and then the trap is hauled up. 5) Another trap-fishing method is called bin-tsuri. This trap consists of a large clear glass bottle with a trapping device at the bottom, viz., a narrow hole points inward forming the raised bottom, (Pl. 2, fig. G) The mouth of the bottle is covered with a piece of cloth, and some bait is put through the hole of the bottom.

　日本の土地には河川・渓流・湖沼・潟湖が甚だ多く，そこらの水族には多かれ少なかれエビが交っている。エビは食べてその味のよさと，他方つり魚のよきえさとして古来広く漁獲され，内水面の重要の水産物の1つである。それだけに，その漁法・漁具は地方（産地）ことに，エビの習性に従いいろいろ工夫されているが，筆者はそれら多くの漁法を集めて分類整理しようとする。