Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Fisheries and

for a world without hunger Aquaculture Department

Fishing Techniques
European Boat Operated Purse Seining

Main Components
Aquatic species

Target Species
Pelagic species

Gear types: Purse seines

Purse seines

A purse seine is made of a long wall of netting framed with a lead line of equal or longer length than the float
line.
Vessel types: European seiners
European seiner

European seiners are most common in Scandinavia, the North Sea, Baltic and all waters fished by European
nations and like all purse seiners are a most effective vessels for catching aggregating specie

Characteristics

Species Environment Fish are into large dense schools near the surface or aggregated by artificial means, such
as floating object (Fish Aggregating Devices, FAD) or, at night, by light.
Fishing Gear A purse seine is made of a long wall of netting framed with floatline and leadline (usually, of
equal or longer length than the former) and having purse rings hanging from the lower edge of the gear,
through which runs a purse line made from steel wire or rope which allow the pursing of the net. For most of
the situation, it is the most efficient gear for catching large and small pelagic species that is shoaling.
Vessel Overview Echosounder and sonar are used to locate schools of pelagic fish. A purse seine winch is used
for the pursing by hauling both sides of the purse line and for the storing of it. A transporter block is,
frequently, installed for leading the net to stacking position, at the stern of the vessel. It is worth mentioning
that the Scandinavian purse seiners are, in general, modern fishing units with, in particular, equipment for
pumping the fish from the bunt: fish pump, leading the fish to fish holds and/or to advanced fish processing
FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department
facility, often including sorting machine which separate fish by sizes or sex. A capstan on foredeck can be
used for hauling the tow line.
Handling Mode The modern distant waters European seiners are equipped to freeze their catch.

Fishery Production Systems Semi-industrial and Industrial.

Fishing Environment Marine coastal and high-sea waters, between 0 and 300 m deep.

Fishing Operations A triple roller (triplex) net winch is used to haul the net by means of three rubber coated
rollers rotating simultaneously in the opposite direction to each other. By this system the net is prevented from
slipping when it is heavy with a large catch, or under rough weather conditions. European boat purseining can
be devided into the following main sequences:

1. Setting the net The net is set from after deck, rings being stowed on bar forward of stacked net.

When buoy or skiff have been retrieved, pursing is carried out by a winch situated on foredeck.
2. Pursing
A capstan on foredeck is used to haul over-run (tow) line.

3. Hauling Pursing complete, the net is passed over the net hauling device, triplex at after house and thence
over transporter block to stacking position. Rings (of clip-on type) are passed from pursing davit forward
to triplex along wire.

4. Pumping The bunt is held open by boom from forecastle deck and the pump handled by boom from
foremast.

Issues

Discard Compared to most of the other fishing techniques, purse seining in general, is not harmful to
natural resources or environment. In certain cases, the potential negative impact produced by a purse seine
may result from its non-selective catching performance, in terms of species and/or fish sizes: when there is
important bycatch of non-targeted species or too many small fish.
Source of information
Workshop on Gear and Vessel Technology. Dakar (Senegal), 10-15 Dec 1984. FAO. Fishery Committee for
the Eastern Central Atlantic. 1987 CECAF/TECH/87/83 FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization for the
United Nations). Dakar (Senegal).

FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department