What's a Seiner ?

Purse seine vessels and its fishing gear catches salmon, herring, squid, tuna and other pelagic species along the West Coast and Alaska. The vessel encircles the fish with net "seine" and draws "purses" the bottom closed to capture the fish.

The net is first stacked on the stern of the vessel and then set into the water while the vessel travels in a large circle around the fish. The far end of the seine is attached to a power skiff, which helps the operation by holding the seine while the vessel completes the circle. The seine stays on the surface of the water because of its float or cork line that runs along the tope of the sine. Similarly, the seine falls vertically because a line weighted with lead runs along the bottom of the seine. As a result, the seine hangs like a curtain around the encircled fish.

The vessel crew then closes or purses the bottom of the seine with a purse line running through numerous brass rings, which are attached to the lead line. The purse line is pulled aboard the vessel with the use of a hydraulic deck winch. The seine is retrieved by the crew through a hydraulic power block attached to the vessel's boom or rigging. Once most of the seine has been retrieved, with the remainder lying alongside the vessel, the fish are dipped, brailed or pumped from the seine and into the vessel's hold.

Purse seine vessels are sleek, cabin-forward vessels with long, clean decks. They are easily recognized by the boom with its power block, the net stacked on the stern, and the skiff, which is often seen riding piggyback aboard the vessel's stern while traveling.

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