Alaska Longline Commercial Fishing Boats

Longliners Target Ground Fish Popular in World Markets

Apr 18, 2009 Alan Sorum

Longliners fish for some of the most popular seafood sold in throughout the world. Learn more here about these commercial fishing boats that work in Alaska's waters.

Longliner vessels are named after the type of gear they deploy to fish for species like Lingcod, Pacific halibut and Black cod (sablefish) found in the deep, cold waters of Alaska.

Longline Fishing Gear

Longline fishing gear is typically composed of 100 fathom (600 foot/183 meter) leaded ground line that has an anchor and float line attached to each end. Baited hooks are attached at regular intervals along the ground line with short leaders or gangions. Each of these gear assemblies is known as a skate. Each skate or series of skates attached to each other deployed from the boat is called a set. After the set has soaked or been fished in the water for up to a day, it is retrieved with a deck-mounted hydraulic winch. Fish brought onboard are cleaned and cooled before they are returned to port, which protects quality and freshness.

Non-Target Species Bycatch

Longline fishing in many respects is a very conservative method for catching fish. Each fish caught is individually handled and non-target species can be released alive. Very little of longline gear is lost and there isn’t the problem of ghost fishing seen in other types of gear like drift gillnets. Bycatch is the term used in the fishing industry to describe the capture of non-target species. These can be other fish as well as sea birds and turtles. The biggest bycatch problem seen in Alaska seems to be the capture of endangered seabirds like the short-tailed albatross.

Fishermen use several tactics to prevent hooking seabirds attracted to their baited fishhooks. Setting gear at night, use of colorful streamer lines attached to the ground line, lining tubes to set gear underwater, heavier ground line, and spraying water as the set is deployed are all techniques that have been used. Federal regulations have established the use of streamers in most waters of the state and boats are required to have a seabird avoidance plan onboard the fishing boat.

Longline Vessels

The boats used for longline fishing can vary greatly, as mostly a function of how far ashore they fish. Small 30 foot boats are not uncommon in the sheltered waters of Southeast Alaska, while purpose built boats over 65 feet in length work in the Gulf of Alaska. Longliners can be identified by their open work decks, gear chutes mounted to the stern, hydraulic line pullers, stacks of plastic tubs each holding a skate of gear, orange buoys tied off the side, floating marker flags on deck and they often have a house or shelter over the back deck to protect crew members from the weather. Many purse seine fishermen also fish longline gear off their boats if they hold quota shares for halibut or Black cod.

Learning to identify the different types of commercial fishing boats makes walking the docks of harbor on a trip to Alaska that much more enjoyable.

The copyright of the article Alaska Longline Commercial Fishing Boats in Boating & Sailing is owned by Alan Sorum. Permission to republish Alaska Longline Commercial Fishing Boats in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Longliner F/V Tribute in Seward, Alaska