Fishing trawlers and shipwrecks

I am doing research for a TV documentary series and am looking for someone who feels comfortable talking in front of the camera about their profession.

Has anyone here discovered or come across a shipwreck during their work on a trawler?

I am interested in talking to fishermen who have had their nets snagged on shipwrecks, or who know of other fishermen that this has happened to.

I am interested in talking to anyone who might know of vessels that have gone down for that reason, and who can talk about the hazards of the trawling industry in general.

I am also interested in talking to fishermen who know where particular wrecks lie and go fishing there for the very reason that wrecks attract fish.

If you are interested and feel qualified to talk about any of the above subjects (or know anyone who is), or any other matter related to fishing trawlers and shipwrecks, please leave your contact details and I will call you or email you.

I hope to hear from some of you.

Thanks!

Zoe.

Zoe---

I think you might be confusing the term "trawler" with "trawler" The term "trawler" has been applied to a general style of recreational powerboat loosly designed around some of the attributes of a commercial fishing trawler. So the "trawler" this forum is about is the recreational vessel, not the commercial vessel.

That said, some participants in this forum may have the experience or knowledge you're enquiring about.

If you haven't already done so, you might pose your enquiry to the national commercial fishing organizations. The only one I'm personally aware of is the tuna boat association in San Diego, but I'm sure there are many others. You might want to pick up a copy of the large-format newsmagazine "National Fisherman" which is one of the more popular trade publications in the fishing industry. You may find some of the commercial fishing associations listed in it, or at least a contact who could provide the information.

The kinds of people who would be using nets on the bottom where they could snag on a wreck would be the shrimpers, scallop draggers, and bottom fish operations. People who use nets for tuna and salmon are usually working the upper layer of water. In Puget Sound commerical gillnet fishermen working close to shore sometimes hang up on rocks and the like.

If your enquiries extend beyond the US, there are active scallop and langoustine (aka Norway lobster, a small, spiny, lobster/crayfish sort of creature) fisheries in England and Scotland. I'd be willing to bet that the scallop draggers working the English Channel have snagged on all sorts of things.

Thats right Marin, our trawler started life as a purse seiner, thats a type of trawler but now it is no longer a trawler, but we love life living on our trawler

What about the trollers? Could you use an old troller for a trawler? Or perhaps convert a trawler to a combination trawler/troller for a dual use boat? If I troll with my trawler is it a trawler or a troller? If the Captain is under 4 feet tall, does that make a trawler a troller?

There, they're their own worst enemies.

Ken


-- Edited by 2bucks at 18:19, 2008-05-23

There are dual or triple use boats out there, but it's been my observation that the combinations do not usually (or ever) include trolling. Trolling, at least in the PNW sense of the word, requires the boat to be outfitted with gear that could make it difficult to use the boat for anything else. The downrigger booms and rigging, hydraulic gurdies, lure and leader racks, etc. tend to clutter up the middle and aft portions of the boat, and it's probably not too practical to take this stuff on and off. Also, trolling is considered a rather unproductive way to fish these days. It sends a much better quality fish to market, but in terms of numbers of fish caught, trolling is probably at the bottom of the list. And since the numbers of fish caught is low, it's probably more economical to use a smaller boat which would make it less suitable for other types of fishing.

A popular combination boat in the PNW/SE Alaska is the 58' limit seiner. Outfitted with a boom, power block, net drum, and seine boat, the vessel becomes a purse seiner. Remove the power block, net drum, and seine boat and crane on a long-line "house," and the boat can be used for longlining for halibut, salmon, or I suppose even tuna. Take off the long-line house and the open and bare aft deck can hold a lot of crab pots. In fact the boat could probably be used for a fourth type of fishing using the net drum and that's gillnetting although most gillnetters tend to be smaller boats than this.

It's not uncommon in our area to see the local gillnet boats remove the net drum and switch over to crabbing as the seasons change.

Look up National Fisherman (a mag) and they can steer you to decades of facts.

FF

Just want to say thanks for all the information provided on this thread. It's very helpful and I will follow the leads you gave me.

Thanks you!

Zoe.