Quotiens nassa extrahitur, totiens captura numeratur.

This is a very common correlative pair in Latin.

• quotiens = as often as / whenever
• totiens = so often / that many times

Together, they mean something like:

• As often as the trap is pulled out, so often the catch is counted
• more naturally in English: Whenever the trap is pulled out, the catch is counted
• or Every time the trap is pulled out, the catch is counted

Latin likes to match these two words, even where English would often use just whenever or every time.

No. Although quotiens can be used in a direct question meaning how often?, that is not what it is doing here.

In this sentence, quotiens introduces a subordinate clause:

• Quotiens nassa extrahitur = Whenever the trap is pulled out

So here it means as often as / whenever, not how often?

A direct question would look more like:

• Quotiens nassa extrahitur? = How often is the trap pulled out?

But in your sentence, it is paired with totiens, which shows that it is not a question.

This is because extrahitur is passive, not active.

• extrahit = he/she/it pulls out active
• extrahitur = is pulled out passive

In a passive sentence, the thing receiving the action becomes the subject, so it stands in the nominative.

So:

• nassa extrahitur = the trap is pulled out

If the sentence were active, you might have something like:

• piscator nassam extrahit = the fisherman pulls out the trap

There, nassam would be accusative because it would be the direct object.

Extrahitur comes from extrahere, meaning to draw out, pull out, drag out.

Its parts are:

• ex- = out
• trahere = to pull, draw

So extrahitur literally means is drawn out or is pulled out.

Grammatically, it is:

• 3rd person singular
• present tense
• passive voice
• indicative mood

So the basic sense is:

• it is pulled out
• here: the trap is pulled out

Latin often uses the passive when the doer is either unknown, unimportant, or simply not being emphasized.

Here:

• nassa extrahitur = the trap is pulled out
• captura numeratur = the catch is counted

The sentence focuses on what happens, not on who does it.

English can do this too:

• The trap is pulled out
• The catch is counted

If Latin wanted to name the person doing the action, it could, but it does not need to.

Captura is nominative singular.

That may feel surprising at first, because in English the catch sounds like the thing being counted, and in an active sentence it would indeed be the object:

• someone counts the catch

But in Latin the verb is passive:

• numeratur = is counted

So the thing being counted becomes the subject of the passive verb:

• captura numeratur = the catch is counted

That is why it is captura nominative, not capturam accusative.

If it were active, you would expect something like:

• capturam numerat = he/she counts the catch

Captura means a catching, a catch, or the catch/haul.

In this context, it means the fish or other animals caught in the trap: the catch.

So:

• captura numeratur = the catch is counted

Depending on context, English might also translate it as:

• the haul is counted
• the take is counted

But the catch is the most straightforward meaning.

Latin often uses the present tense for general truths, customary actions, or repeated actions.

So this sentence is not necessarily talking about one specific occasion. It expresses a regular procedure or habitual fact:

• Whenever the trap is pulled out, the catch is counted

This is very similar to English, which also commonly uses the present tense for habitual actions:

• Every time he comes home, he checks the mail
• Whenever the trap is pulled out, the catch is counted

So the present tense here is perfectly natural.

Sometimes in smooth English, yes, but whenever or every time is better because it keeps the idea of repetition.

• when can refer to one occasion
• quotiens suggests repeated occasions: as often as, whenever

So although when the trap is pulled out, the catch is counted might be understandable, it is less precise than:

• whenever the trap is pulled out
• every time the trap is pulled out

Latin word order is flexible. The sentence is arranged quite neatly:

• Quotiens nassa extrahitur, totiens captura numeratur.

Each clause has:

• a marker word first: quotiens / totiens
• then a noun: nassa / captura
• then a verb: extrahitur / numeratur

This balanced structure is elegant and easy to follow. Latin often likes this kind of parallel arrangement.

You may learn that Latin often puts the verb at the end, and that is true very often, but not always. Word order in Latin depends on emphasis, style, rhythm, and clarity, not on a fixed rule like in English.

Not exactly. Nassa usually means a basket trap, especially for fish or similar animals, rather than a broad cloth net.

So depending on context, translations might include:

• trap
• fish-trap
• sometimes loosely net

If the meaning already given to you says net, that is probably a simplified translation. But more specifically, nassa is often a wicker trap or basket trap.

Yes. The sentence is built in a very symmetrical way:

• Quotiens ... extrahitur
• totiens ... numeratur

This creates a tidy pattern:

• as often as X happens, so often Y happens

Latin often uses these paired structures to make relationships very clear. A learner should notice that the second clause answers the first:

• quotiens asks, in effect, as often as when?
• totiens answers: that often

So the whole sentence has a strongly matched, almost proverb-like form.

Yes. A very literal translation is:

• As often as the trap is pulled out, so often the catch is counted.

But natural English would more often say:

• Whenever the trap is pulled out, the catch is counted.
• Every time the trap is pulled out, the catch is counted.
• Each time the trap is pulled out, the catch is counted.

All of these reflect the same Latin structure, but some sound more idiomatic in English than others.