Different Types of Fishing Vessels

A fishing vessel is a type of boat or ship used to catch fish in a lake, sea, or river. This type of vessel can be used for deep-sea and freshwater fishing. 

Larger fishing vessels are required for deep-sea ocean fishing, which is heavy output and rather difficult, whereas smaller boats are used for freshwater fishing.

Based on the purpose they serve, fishing vessels are categorised into three classes-

• Commercial fishing vessels
• Artisanal fishing vessels
• Recreational fishing vessels

Commercial or Industrial fishing vessels catch fish and other seafood from wild fisheries for higher profit. Commercial fishing provides a large quantity of food for many countries around the globe, but it is rather difficult due to the uncertainties of big oceans.

Related Read: A List of Unique and Interesting Marine Careers

Artisanal or traditional fishing boats are small-scale, low-technology fishing boats usually owned by individuals.

Recreational fishing vessels are used by those for whom fishing is a hobby rather than a means of earning an income. They come in different sizes and features.

Presently, numerous types of fishing vessels operate in the maritime industry. Let’s know more about them in this article.

History Of  Fishing Vessels

Before the standardisation in the 1950s, the design of fishing vessels varied from region to region. Traditional vessels were made of wood, but due to their high maintenance cost and shorter life, they became obsolete, and other safer and more durable materials are now used for building fishing vessels.

Rafts and dugout canoes are regarded as the oldest fishing vessels. They were made from tree bark, tree logs, and stones. The oldest fishing boat belongs to the Neolithic Period (about 7000 to 9000 years ago), as revealed in the excavation at Kuwait. These vessels had less durability and were not employed for long-distance travel. 

After these simpler boats, around 4000 B.C., the Egyptians developed the first multi-oarsmen long and narrow vessels. They carried out further advancements to achieve much faster, larger, and suitable long-distance travel vessels. Simultaneously, some other civilisations also started developing innovative vessels for fishing and trade purposes. 

In the 15th century, the Dutch developed a drifter that became a blueprint for the later European fishing boats. It was a bus-like ship about 20m long used for fishing. In the 17th century, the British developed a dogger. Doggers were a little smaller than herring buses but could carry tonnes of fish at a time.

Related Read: The History of Ships: Ancient Maritime World

The trawler, the modern fishing vessel, was developed in the 19th century at Brixham harbour. It was developed by modifying the dogger developed in the 17th century; their innovation was entitled Brixham, titled ‘Mother of Deep-Sea Fisheries’. This was the first time ocean fishing became possible, and the design became prevalent worldwide. The development continued, and with time, the advent of steam created a takeoff point for fishing vessels. The vessels that followed sailed using steam power and had steel hulls. Further development resulted in stern trawlers and electronically assisted commercial fishing vessels we use today. 

Categorisation Of Fishing Vessels

Trawlers

Trawlers are one of the common forms of fishing vessels. As the name suggests, these vessels have trawler nets suspended and trailed under the water’s surface at the required depths to haul and trap the fish. Trawler vessels are employed to catch a wide array of fish in almost every country worldwide.

Trawlers are generally used for small-scale fisheries but are also used for deep-sea fishing.

Fishing nets are suspended from poles, which pull them to a specified depth. The material used to make the net is nylon, which makes it flexible.

The bottom of the nets is connected with a heavy chain so that the net can be dragged down to the sea and collect as many fish as possible. Extra power should be applied if a heavy load gets stuck at the bottom of the net.

A winch crab arrangement is provided to the drum, through which these nets can be easily wrapped around the drum when not in use. 

Related Read: Different Types of Trawlers Used in the Shipping World

These trawlers are further subdivided into two categories: Stern and Cutter.

These trawlers have an automated refrigeration system, and their engine power depends on their assigned workload.

A refrigeration system maintains the optimum temperature for the fish. Some advanced modern trawlers have an inbuilt fish processing facility.

Non-trawling Vessels

These are highly effective fishing vessels. The nets of these vessels cannot be pulled against the ocean water. Instead, fish swim to the net and get themselves caught. The nets can be a kilometre long.

The non-trawling vessels are subdivided into the following categories:

Seiners

This type of non-trawling vessel is generally employed to catch pelagic species found near the water surface. Seine nets are used in this type of fishing vessel. These nets have traps that close the net from below when the fish shoal enters it. A bow thruster is sometimes provided in a seiner, which enables the vessel to make circles around the shoal.

At first glance, seine fishing nets resemble a huge floating device, but once the fish enter the net, the lower portion of the net closes, trapping them.

These fishing boats have state-of-the-art technological gadgets to enable high returns of catch.

Longliners

These vessels have multiple long fishing lines in series, each connected with hundreds of baited hooks.

The branch line that hangs these hooks to the fishing lines is known as snoods. The number of crew members, the size of the ship, and the automation facility determine the number of fishing lines to be provided in the vessel.

However, the major difference between the longliners and the trollers is that while the latter employs numerous fishing cords, the longliner vessels employ just one long fishing cord containing around 1,000 lures.

The fishing cord is deployed from the vessel’s tail end, and automated systems help the vessel stay in place and spool the fish to be stored.

Tuna clippers

It is an automated fishing vessel with a special platform with poles and lines. These lines are further connected with live bait to catch Tuna (saltwater fish).

Tune clippers are usually fitted with an automatic swinging mechanism that swings the Tuna (when caught) into tanks. 

Gillnetters

Gillnetters are fishing boats that employ the gill net system of fishing. They can be manually operated or technologically aided for better fishing results.

Generally speaking, comparatively minor-level fishing operations employ the former technique, while bigger fisheries operations employ modern gadgets-enabled gillnetting techniques.

Crabbers

Fishing boats that are extensively used to catch crabs are known as crabbers. These vessels are alternatively called ‘fish trap’ boats, and they are equipped with specific entrapping aids to catch crustaceans.

These vessels have automated windlasses equipped to haul these trapping aids with the catch.

Drifters

Drifters are fishing boats that haul and trap fish with special drift fishing nets.

Fishing boats that use special drift fishing nets (nets that, when dropped in water, fall like long curtains) to drag and trap fish are referred to as Drifters.

When thrown into the water, the nets fell like drapes and were mainly employed to capture herring.

Factory Ship

The factory ship is like a floating fishing, processing, and preserving factory at sea.

The fishing vessels generally employed to catch crabs are called crabbers and fish trap boats.

The factory ship performs all the functions that are carried out once the fish are brought to shore. Know more about the factory ship.

Read about the world’s largest ship for fish processing. 

Most of the above-listed fishing vessels have numerous sub-classifications under their broader head and are also used for fishing certain specific fish varieties.

However, the commonality between all fishing vessels is that these fishing boats are extensively employed to suit the needs of the mercantile-based fisheries domain and not just a micro-level operational need.

Market Statistics Of Fishing Vessels

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), there were 4.1 million fishing vessels worldwide as of 2020. However, fishing vessels have dwindled in the past two decades due to a reduction in fishing fleets by nations in Europe and China. 

FAO data shows that the global fishing fleet decreased by 10% between 2015 and 2020 and 4% between 2019 and 2020.

Asia has the largest fishing fleet, with 2.68 million vessels. Africa’s fleet has gradually risen in the last five years, comprising 23.5% of the world’s fishing vessels. America accounts for less than 9% of the world’s fishing fleet. Europe and Oceania have a 2% and less than 1% share of the world’s total, respectively.

With 564,000 fishing vessels, China boasts the world’s biggest fishing fleet. However, it has been scaled down since 2013.

However, decreasing global fishing fleet size does not mean sustainable outcomes for fisheries. Modern fishing vessels are laden with sophisticated equipment that enables them to catch tonnes of fish in a single trip, which was impossible with old fishing vessels.  Hence, though the number of fishing vessels has decreased, the volume of fish caught has increased.

However, the number of fishing boats cannot be estimated precisely as fishing boats include recreational boats of all sizes, from dinghies (small) to charter cruises (large). 

Engine-powered vessels worldwide were estimated to be 2.8 million, making it 62% of the global fleet. 

The distribution of motorised fleets is uneven around the globe. About 80% of the land is owned by Asia, which makes up 2.2 million vessels, and Africa stands second with 153,000 vessels. Europe has more motorized fleets than other vessels, but its fleet capacity has declined since 2000.

Future Of Fishing Vessels

The Fishing Industry alone employs 1.5 crore people in the country. However, India’s share in fish production is only 4.2%, whereas China’s share is 69%. To maintain the Indian fishing industry’s share in global fish production at an adequate value, the country’s fishing vessels must be upgraded and equipped with better facilities.

Fishing vessels should be designed according to standards and based on sustainable development. They should be able to meet the nation’s local and export demand.

Fishing vessels should be easily operable and have no or negligible environmental impact. Fishing is a major employment-generating industry; it should not go off-shore without fishing vessels. Indian vessels still need certain advancements in fishing vessel manufacturing and development.

You might also like to read:

• A Guide To Types of Ships
• Types of Sailboats: A Comprehensive Classification
• Different Types of Submarines and Underwater Vessels
• Different Types of Barges Used in the Shipping World
• LNG Tankers: Different Types And Dangers Involved
• What Are Coaster Vessels?

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About Author

Raunek Kantharia is a marine engineer turned maritime writer and entrepreneur. After a brief stint at the sea, he founded Marine Insight in 2010. Apart from managing Marine Insight, he also writes for a number of maritime magazines and websites.

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