Fishing Vessel Types | Seiners
Seiners use surrounding or roundhaul nets, such as purse seines and lampara nets, to surround schools of pelagic fish near the surface. Like other modern vessels, seiners can vary by the types of equipment that are used and the geographical region in which they are used. Traditionally, seine fishing was done by hand, but modern seining began in 1960 with the introduction of the hydraulic winch and power block. The classification of seiners is:
Some vessels operate in nearshore waters targeting coastal pelagic species, like the Pacific Sardine and the Market Squid). These vessels primarily target finfish with seine nets. The average size of a purse seiner is 15-25m (49-82 ft) long, with a hold capacity of 18-36 t (40,000-80,000 lbs), and a crew size of 5 people. Other seiners operate in the open-ocean targeting highly migratory species like Tuna. These larger purse seine operations are currently open access fisheries. A seiner may use an additional vessel during seine fishing operations. Also, larger vessels may utilize helicopters or spotter planes to search for and track schools of fish.