Fishing and Fish Processing Vessels

Fish processing vessel, is a large ocean-going vessel with extensive on-board facilities for processing and freezing caught fish. According to the FAO, there are about 38,400 vessels greater than 100 tons in the world's factory fishing fleet.

Contemporary factory ships are automated and enlarged versions of the earlier whalers and their use for fishing has grown dramatically. Some factory ships also function as mother ships.

Fishing vessels

A fishing vessel is a boat or ship used to catch fish in the sea, or on a lake or river. Many different kinds of vessels are used in commercial, artisanal and recreational fishing.

According to the FAO, there are currently (2004) four million commercial fishing vessels. About 1.3 million of these are decked vessels with enclosed areas. Nearly all of these decked vessels are mechanised, and 40,000 of them are over 100 tons. At the other extreme, two-thirds (1.8 million) of the undecked boats are traditional craft of various types, powered only by sail and oars. These boats are used by artisan fishers.

It is difficult to estimate the number of recreational fishing boats. They range in size from small dingies to large charter cruisers, and unlike commercial fishing vessels, are often not dedicated just to fishing.

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