Seiner

Seiner 

(also seine-netter), a vessel for catching fish with a purse seine. Usually a seiner is a single-decked vessel with a superstructure toward the bow. On the stern there is a working area for storing and handling the seine and a turning platform from which the seine is set. One end of the seine is attached to an auxiliary motorboat, which is kept on the working deck of the seiner or is pulled by the seiner until the fishing site is located. For increased maneuverability large seiners are sometimes equipped with active control devices, for example, active rudders, swiveling extension rudders and side propellers. Seiners have devices for recovering and setting the seine, refrigeration units, and fish-processing machines. Seiners are also equipped with fish-finders.

The largest seiners, reaching 70m in length, are built (1975)in the United States, Spain, and Japan. The power of the main engine is 2.5megawatts, and the speed is 16–17knots. Such seiners are used for catching tuna, mackerel, and other rapid-swimming pelagic fishes. In the USSR the most commonly used seiners are the RS-300, SO, and BChS models (length, 25–30m; power of the main engine, 220 kilowatts). Also common are trawler seiners of the Al’pinist model (length, 49 m; power, 970 kilowatts; speed, 13knots).

V. V. RANENKO