42
The Last Resource
1954 when the rst stem trawler, the Fairz‘ry, went into operation.
The Fairy boasted the stem ramp of the ‘factory’ ship used in
whaling, and like this it carried a surprising array of equipment for
processing the catch. It was to be the rst of many similar vessels
built by shing nations all over the world. Not all of the subsequent
boats have been of this ‘factory’ ship design; since the early sixties a
smaller breed of stem trawler with a swinging gantry instead of the
ramp has also appeared on the scene. With the ability to pull the net
up over the stem now present, the low sides needed in conventional
trawlers for manhandling the loaded net on to the deck can be re—
placed with higher, more protective sides, thus making for a safer
ship and reducing the number of crew needed for hauling in. The
stem trawler may carry half the number of crew found on a compar—
able, conventional trawler.
The large factory trawlers are part of a new dimension in the
highly industrialized sheries. They trek to distant shing grounds in
order to take the larger catches needed for their economic operation.
Trips of several months or more are not unusual. As a result they
have come up against & basic problem which has taxed shermen ever
since more sh were caught than could be eaten—the problem of
preserving the catch. The earliest techniques, pickling and salting,
have lost ground steadily in the face of the increasingly ‘rened’
demands of the home market where the cry is for ‘fresh sh’. The
housewife picks and chooses for the best quality sh where the esh
is not discoloured but looks ‘fresh and wholesome’. Unfortunately,
as soon as a sh dies its esh starts to undergo irreversible changes
which lead inevitably to a loss of quality and value: hence the
emphasis on sh processing equipment in the Fairfry. The very
large factory ships such as those found in Soviet shing eets have
been completely converted to the role of mother ship. They receive
and process sh taken by smaller catcher ships which are in turn
serviced by the larger boat.
One method of preserving the catch which appears to have the
least effect on the actual taste is freezing, and since the war the
number of freezer trawlers in operation has increased rapidly. But
not all trawlers have facilities for freezing and in this event the catch
is usually kept in ice. Even with the most efcient use of ice, how—
ever, sh such as cod cannot be landed in good condition after more
than twelve days in ice. Antibiotics such as chlortetracycline and
oxytetracycline added to the ice can extend this period by ve days
The Last Resource
1954 when the rst stem trawler, the Fairz‘ry, went into operation.
The Fairy boasted the stem ramp of the ‘factory’ ship used in
whaling, and like this it carried a surprising array of equipment for
processing the catch. It was to be the rst of many similar vessels
built by shing nations all over the world. Not all of the subsequent
boats have been of this ‘factory’ ship design; since the early sixties a
smaller breed of stem trawler with a swinging gantry instead of the
ramp has also appeared on the scene. With the ability to pull the net
up over the stem now present, the low sides needed in conventional
trawlers for manhandling the loaded net on to the deck can be re—
placed with higher, more protective sides, thus making for a safer
ship and reducing the number of crew needed for hauling in. The
stem trawler may carry half the number of crew found on a compar—
able, conventional trawler.
The large factory trawlers are part of a new dimension in the
highly industrialized sheries. They trek to distant shing grounds in
order to take the larger catches needed for their economic operation.
Trips of several months or more are not unusual. As a result they
have come up against & basic problem which has taxed shermen ever
since more sh were caught than could be eaten—the problem of
preserving the catch. The earliest techniques, pickling and salting,
have lost ground steadily in the face of the increasingly ‘rened’
demands of the home market where the cry is for ‘fresh sh’. The
housewife picks and chooses for the best quality sh where the esh
is not discoloured but looks ‘fresh and wholesome’. Unfortunately,
as soon as a sh dies its esh starts to undergo irreversible changes
which lead inevitably to a loss of quality and value: hence the
emphasis on sh processing equipment in the Fairfry. The very
large factory ships such as those found in Soviet shing eets have
been completely converted to the role of mother ship. They receive
and process sh taken by smaller catcher ships which are in turn
serviced by the larger boat.
One method of preserving the catch which appears to have the
least effect on the actual taste is freezing, and since the war the
number of freezer trawlers in operation has increased rapidly. But
not all trawlers have facilities for freezing and in this event the catch
is usually kept in ice. Even with the most efcient use of ice, how—
ever, sh such as cod cannot be landed in good condition after more
than twelve days in ice. Antibiotics such as chlortetracycline and
oxytetracycline added to the ice can extend this period by ve days