Each week, Bateaux.com offers you a question on the boating licence . You can add to your knowledge or increase your skills in the very broad field of boating. This week, we will discuss the topic of lights and marks on fishing vessels. In recreational boating, we regularly come across boats in fishing action: how to recognize them and how to maneuver?
As a reminder, vessels in fishing action are among the preferred vessels. Indeed, the difficulty to maneuver that can be caused by the deployment of a fishing gear imposes to the pleasure boats, including sailing boats, to modify their course facing this type of vessel. Two cases can occur:
1st case : the trawler
We are talking here about vessels which, when fishing, are moving because they are towing a fishing gear (a trawl for example). In this category, we also find the vessels that use the technique of fishing "au boeuf" which is a trawl towed by 2 vessels and all the so-called dragging arts.
In fishing action, this boat will display two lights at night with 360° illumination: a green light on a white light. It will also display its running lights (side lights and stern light) as it is the case for our question of the day: the boat is a trawler in fishing action which must be bypassed very widely on the back because of the fishing gear it is towing. The correct answer is C.
If the trawler is more than 50 meters long, it will also show its 2 ème white masthead light on 225° towards the front (see diagram below).
During the day, all fishing vessels show two black cones opposite each other at the tip.
2nd case: the fishing vessel other than a trawler
The major difference with the case of trawlers is that this time, when the vessels are in fishing action, they have no or very little headway because they set or haul in fishing gear such as traps, longlines, nets or a seine. This is the family of the passive arts.
When fishing, this angler will show two lights at night with 360° illumination: a red light over a white light. If he is making headway, he will also show his running lights (side and stern lights). The difference with trawlers is that a fishing vessel other than a trawler over 50 meters does not show its 2 ème masthead light.
The daytime mark is the same as for trawlers. In addition, if the fishing vessel launches or hauls in fishing gear longer than 150 meters, then it must also display a black cone pointing upwards during the day and a white light on 360° at night on the side where the fishing gear is deployed.
