An Old Trawler

by Dick Botkin

Title

An Old Trawler

Artist

Dick Botkin

Medium

Photograph

Description

A fishing trawler (also called a dragger) is a commercial fishing vessel designed to operate fishing trawls. Trawling is a method of fishing that involves actively dragging or pulling a trawl through the water behind one or more trawlers. Trawls are fishing nets that are pulled along the bottom of the sea or in midwater at a specified depth. A trawler may also operate two or more trawl nets simultaneously (double-rig and multi-rig).
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There are many variants of trawling gear. They vary according to local traditions, bottom conditions, and how large and powerful the trawling boats are. A trawling boat can be a small open boat with only 30 horsepower or a large factory ship with 10,000 horsepower. Trawl variants include beam trawls, large-opening midwater trawls, and large bottom trawls, such as "rock hoppers" that are rigged with heavy rubber wheels that let the net crawl over rocky bottom.
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Trawler designs adapted as the way they were powered changed from sail to coal-fired steam by World War I to diesel and turbines by the end of World War II. During World War I and World War II, many fishing trawlers were commissioned as naval trawlers to be used as minesweepers, the activities being similar, with the crew and layout already suited to the task. Since World War II, commercial fishing vessels have been increasingly equipped with electronic aids, such as radio navigation aids and fish finders. During the Cold War, some countries fitted fishing trawlers with additional electronic gear so they could be used as spy ships to monitor the activities of other countries.
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The town of Grimsby on Lincolnshire's east coast once laid claim to the title of the 'largest fishing port in the world', Its fleet of over 700 trawlers and the rail links from the town to London's Billingsgate Fish Market allowed Grimsby fish to be renowned nationwide. Today Grimsby's fish docks are virtually deserted, though the towns port is still a hive of activity for cargo vessels. The glory days of fishing in the town are remembered at the town's Fishing Heritage Centre (previously the National Fishing Heritage Centre) where the preserved trawler Ross Tiger provides a unique glimpse into the lost lives of the 1950s trawlerman.

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February 6th, 2013

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