Re: [Paddlewise] Andrea Gail - Perfect Storm

Thanks to all for the interesting discussion.  I think Capt. Reid summed
it up the best.  Apparently some of the Gloucester boats are "evolution"
boats saddled with trawler booms and top-heavy with add-on command decks,
so unstable that underwater stabilizer wings are utilized (as many of
you, including Craig Hicks and Dave Seng, noted).  I wasn't previously
aware of the need for stabilizer wings/disks on non-trawlers, but the
movie clearly showed anchors hanging from the booms, not stabilizer
wings, didn't it?  I'm familiar with the otter doors used by
shrimp/flounder/scallop trawlers.  They're used to spread the net and
they do "fly" and stabilize, but they're not what hung from the Andrea
Gail.

I learned that the Grand Banks cod fishery was a gillnet fishery.  As I
recall, gillnets are typically fed and retrieved from a spool or reel
similar to a longline spool/reel, and the stern is usually very low to
allow pulling the net on board.  The fish are picked from the net as it's
reeled in.

There was a lot of well-meaning misinformation given out.  Gillnets are
not trawled.  They're hung from floats and either drifted or anchored. 
The mesh size dictates what they catch.  You might use 4" mesh for
salmon, and 1/4" mesh for anchovies.  As Kirk Olsen noted, there's a lot
of potential abuse from gillnets, and lost drift gillnets continue to
kill for years.  All nets are indiscriminate killers of anything that
gets caught in them, including undersize fish, turtles, and dolphins.

Trollers use much thinner booms that only need to be strong enough to
hold 3 or 4 trolling lines on each side.  Trolling booms can't really be
mistaken for trawler booms.  Salmon, albacore, Dorado, and billfish are
common troll-caught fish.

Dave Kruger and Gabriel Romeu asked about fishing gear.  Trawlers or
draggers don't use gear off the stern.  They use massive side booms to
spread and retrieve a massive net that drags close to the sea bottom. 
The net may have chains hanging from it to kick shrimp, flounders, and
scallops off the bottom into the net.  Typically there are flying doors
or wings at the outer edges of the net to spread it.

Purse seiners work on the principle of surrounding a school of fish and
drawing the bottom of the purse tight.  Tuna and salmon seiners have a
Marco Power Block (a big pulley, centrally located and elevated) to raise
the net, and a powerful seine skiff to take the other end of the net out
from the boat.

Longliners use the hook and bait method shown in the movie Perfect Storm.
 Halibut, sharks, and Swordfish are longlined.  I think most tuna are
caught by net or by hook and line, not longlining as Kirk Olsen said.

I shared Doug Lloyd's near-tears.  The movie was action-packed and
emotionally gripping.  Time magazine's July 3 edition mentioned the
computer-enhanced ocean waves.  I have to admit that the 200' swell that
capsized the Andrea Gail was hard to stomach, but the visual effect was
gripping.  

Darrell Lee
Alameda, CA
snorkler_at_juno.com

> Darrell, good morning and good question
> 
> I'm not sure about the Andrea Gail, but many of the trawlers
> in New England are rigged so that they can fish in several
> fisheries, for example scalloping and shrimping.  Many were
> old shrimp boats converted in the 1970's and 1980's to drag
> for scallops on the Grand Banks.
> 
> There has been a lot of controversy over the years as these
> boats developed.  The first Gulf shrimpers were built along
> the Gulf coast, many by the fishermen themselves along the
> banks of bayous or creek sides in the south.  No plans, no
> naval architect or engineer.  Just an owner with a welding
> machine and a couple helpers that were either kin folks or
> local friends.
> 
> Each boat added the individuals personal thoughts and
> desires .... i.e. "I want to build a boat 15' longer than my
> neighbor Boudreaux".
> 
> None of these boats were 'inspected vessels' ... as they got
> closer to 100' (the magic measurement where they would have
> to be inspected), they started moving they houses forward
> and upward.  A command deck was added topside to give them
> more crew space below.  The basic hulls never changed.
> 
> When used as a longliner, and they still had the outriggers
> ... they would mount stablizers which were drug from them to
> attempt to keep the boats from rolling so badly.
> 
> Under no means were these boats stable ... all the extra
> weight topside was not compensated for.  In addition ...
> when these boats arrived in New England ... even more steel
> was added to close in parts of the deck areas because of the
> severe weather.
> 
> One series of these boats was built by a ship yard in St.
> Augustine, Florida, that became quite popular as scallopers
> during the 1970's.  Called the St. Augustine Trawler, these
> boats were built 'en masse' by a Texas businessman with the
> idea of taking over the New England scallop market.  When
> this operation went bankrupt ... many of the boats were sold
> at auction to the local fishermen.  There are still quite a
> few working in New England, especially around Glouchester,
> New Bedford - Fairhaven, Fall River, and Newport.
> 
> Capt. Donald R. Reid
 


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