Fishing
Fishing has played an important role in human food gathering for over 35,000 years, but the evolution of fishing boats over the last several thousand years has greatly expanded societies’ ability to feed themselves and presents the modern world with an important source of healthy nourishment.
Of the 4 million commercial fishing boats sailing the seas today, it is estimated that 1.3 million are modern, decked craft with enclosed areas and catch storage or processing holds. Two-thirds of the remaining boats are believed to be traditionally powered vessels, including sailboats and rowboats, that are used by artisan fishers for small scale commercial or subsistence fishing in coastal or island regions, as well as upon rivers and lakes.
Although boats utilized for fishing date from antiquity as evidenced by ancient Egyptian artwork, until the late medieval period boats were generally adapted from other purposes rather than being designed specifically to optimize their ability to function as commercial fishing craft. With the evolution of efficient, purpose-built fishing boats throughout the Renaissance, by the Age of Sail commercial fishing had become a major industry for many northern European seagoing nations. Fishing fleets consisting of hundreds of sailing craft might spend weeks at sea, salting their catch for storage in barrels or transferring them to other sailboats for transport back to shore.
Fishing boat designed varied greatly by nation, region and even individual shipyard as much as by function or intended catch throughout the age of sailboats. During the 1950s, the design of mechanized commercial fishing boats increasingly constructed of steel or fiberglass started to become more standardized.
Modern commercial fishing boats operate using different fishing techniques and methods, depending upon their location, active fisheries and intended catch. The most common type is the fishing trawler, which drags large nets hanging from its sides or held open behind the boat as it moves through the water. Another is the “seiner”, or seine net, which deploys a long net to encircle a school of fish before drawing the fishing net tight to contain them. Tuna, mackerel, skipjack and squid are often fished using long lines with baited hooks, which may be extended on poles or booms from the sides and stern of the ship as it cruises slowly through the sea.
Lobster
Lobsters are found in all the world’s oceans, and lobster fishing is a $1 billion annual industry. In North America, the most important regions for lobster fishing include New England, southern California, the Caribbean and the Canadian Maritimes.
Although lobsters may be harvested by diving, including scuba diving, the use of lobster boats allows lobster fishermen to significantly increase their catch. A single fisher in a small lobster boat is able to set, harvest and reset more than 100 traps in a single day, catching anywhere from 100 to 1000 lobster. Larger fishing boats and crews can lay strings of traps to increase their catch.
Lobster traps are simple rectangular or half-cylinder cages with a one-way entry. The fisher places bait in the trap then lowers it to the sea floor where the lobster live, while a floating buoy marks the trap’s location. After allowing time for several lobster to enter the trap, the fisher returns in their lobster boat to the recover the trap, extract the lobster and then reset the trap.
Traditional lobster traps are made from oak, but modern ones are constructed of a wire mesh coated with heavy plastic. Small escape hatches allow undersized or juvenile lobster to escape, while the one-way doors feature a “self-destruct device” that causes them to fall open after a period of time if the trap has not been recovered by the lobster boat.
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