Fishing vessels are boats, launches or ships, with the help of which people fish, whales, seals, as well as any other animals that can live in the sea, ocean, lake, river, etc.
General information
Currently, there are approximately four million commercial fishing vessels in the Russian Federation. However, it is very important to note that it is almost impossible to calculate the actual number of vessels that are used for fishing, as many people engage in private fishing.
The history of fishing is quite long. Today, this lesson has grown into a full-fledged industry. This development has led people to invent different types of fishing vessels. There are such species as a trawler, a floating base, a drifter, a seiner, tunnels and other fishing vessels. It is worth noting that it was commercial fishing vessels that were the first to be equipped with such equipment as radio navigation devices to help locate a school of fish.
Division into classes. Drifter
Fishing vessels are currently divided into several classes depending on their size, as well as the method of fishing.
There is a class like a drifter. This ship belongs to the small and medium tonnage types of the vessel. The name of this ship came from the English word drift, which means drift. It was not called so by chance, but because fishing is carried out while the ship is quietly drifting. Catching of production is carried out due to a flat network, which in height can reach from 3 to 15 meters, and its length can reach 5 km. The design features of this type of ship include the fact that it has a low side, as well as a lot of free space in the bow of the deck. This place is intended for the location of devices involved in network sampling.
Trawler
Fishing trawler ships are considered one of the most common types of ships. In order to increase the number of fish caught in one call, these large vessels use trawl nets - trawls. Also on these ships is the primary processing of all captured prey. Currently, all fishing vessels belonging to this type are equipped with refrigeration units and freezers, which are designed to store caught fish while the crew is still swimming. It is worth noting that there are several subclasses of the trawler. The main difference between these species is the way they fish.
There is a fishing trawler with side trawling, a fishing trawler with aft trawl, a large fishing trawler, a large autonomous trawler, etc. As their name implies, the difference between most ships lies in the location of the trawl, which changes the process of fishing.
It is worth noting that job vacancies on fishing vessels are a rarity. Despite the fact that the work is very hard, even ordinary sailors pay good money for it.
Longlines
The next type of fishing was longline fishing. Using this method involves hunting for fish such as cod, tuna, halibut, pollock. The essence of this method is that hooked tackle with bait descends into the sea. This gear is attached to a long cable, which is called the tier. For this reason, all ships using this fishing method are called longlines.
While the vessel is heading to the point where the fish will be fishing, the crew is engaged in a bait attachment on hooks. The length of the coward can be up to 5 km. In this case, there are approximately 4,500 hooks that you need to put on the bait. In order to lower the tackle with hooks to the very bottom, where the fish feed, use anchors. However, there are more advanced marine fishing vessels such as a longline. The modernization consists in the fact that on board the ship there is an automatic bait attachment system for hooks. The nozzle speed reaches four hooks per second.
Seiner
Seiners are fishing vessels whose sailors fish using a method such as wallet net. This net is raised from the water with the help of a cargo crane of the ship. This method is used very actively for catching fish such as herring. The greatest catch can be obtained in the spring, if you fish in the city of Sitka, located in Alaska. In its design, the seiner is the simplest fishing vessel with one deck, as well as a superstructure, which is slightly offset towards the bow of the ship. At the stern of the vessel there is a working space where storage and processing of the net takes place, and also there is a turning platform from which it is swept out during fishing. It is also worth noting that the seiner usually tows a small motor boat behind it. In order to detect a large flock of herring during fishing, this vessel has an echo sounder.
Floating base
Most often, a fishing vessel unloads its catch on a fish processing ship. This category is considered the most numerous, and it usually functions away from the coast. On board such vessels there is always a place for storage, as well as for processing fish. Among the characteristics of such ships, one can single out that their maximum carrying capacity can reach from 2,000 to 3,000 tons. In addition, such facilities have on board equipment that is fully capable of carrying out all fish processing processes, including cleaning, cutting, freezing, etc.
The number of crews that service this vessel and work on it reaches 90 people. Photos of fishing vessels of this type are always easier to find than others, since the size of this category of ship is much larger than the rest. It is worth noting that such ships have been located for quite some time in those areas where fish are fished, and therefore they are most often equipped with floating bases. At such bases are the administrative bodies of the fleet, crew rest areas, hospitals and facilities for communicating with the land.
Harpoon ships or dredges
The use of harpoon vessels is justified only in hunting for very large game. Most often, this game is whales. Such vessels are equipped with large harpoons, to the ends of which a rope is attached, and the tip has either pointed ends or swivel paws. It is worth noting that whale fishing is most often carried out by more than one vessel. For this, whole whaling flotillas are used, and storage and processing of prey are carried out at floating bases.
However, whale fishing is currently prohibited by almost all countries except Japan, Iceland and Norway. Fishing is a very profitable business, but you should prepare for the fact that most of the year will have to be spent at sea.