wetline

English

Etymology

wet +‎ line

Noun

wetline (plural wetlines)

1. (firefighting) A line that has been doused with water in order to stop the advance of a fire.
   • 1982, Henry A. Wright, Fire Ecology: United States and Southern Canada, page 398:

     In cheatgrass the wetline technique has proven to be successful and is equally useful in other light to moderate grass fuels on relatively smooth terrain.

   • 1977, Robert E. Martin, Wetline Technique for Prescribed Burning Firelines in Rangeland:

     We have used this method in the evening when strip headfires would burn into the wetline, but the backfire would go out.

2. (transport) An unprotected pipe located beneath a cargo tank that is used for loading of liquid products such as petroleum.
   • 2003, Commercial Carrier Journal, volume 160:

     […] safety risks associated with the transportation of flammable liquids in unprotected product piping – known as wetlines – on DOT-specification cargo tank motor vehicles.

   • 2009, Concerns with Hazardous Materials Safety in the U.S.: Is PHMSA Performing Its Mission?, United States Congress House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure:

     Perhaps the best example is wetlines. Wetlines are unprotected piping located beneath a cargo tank that is used for the bottom loading of gasoline or other petroleum products. In April 2009, we asked PHMSA how many wetlines incidents occurred since 2000.

3. (fishing, Australia, attributive) Commercial line fishing that does not use a longline.
   • 1983, Australian Fisheries, volume 42, page 35:

     Its below decks layout has been redesigned to suit its role as a modern wetline or rock lobster fishing boat.

   • 2000, Protecting and Sharing Western Australia's Coastal Fish Resources: The Path to Integrated Management: Issues and Proposals for Community Discussion, Fisheries Western Australia:

     The commercial wetline fleet is a subset of the total fishing fleet, and consists of all boats with Fishing Boat Licences which have access to fish stocks that are not subject to specific management.

   • 2012, Bob Cooper, Outback Survival:

     I worked on several boats over a total of eight seasons, along the way obtaining my Master Class V and Master of Limited Trade Vessels skipper's tickets, and skippered a wet-line fishing boat, and a charter boat in the off-seasons.