[Publication] Handbook of fishing gears used by the EU fleet

Working on EU fisheries policy issues often involves dealing with a specialised vocabulary, full of technical terms and translated into different EU languages. The terminology associated with the wide range of gears used in fisheries is one of the most complex parts of this vocabulary. Indeed, fishing gears are conceived to target particular species or groups of species, which means that each gear has a specific design and operates in a specific way. Moreover, a multitude of regional and local variations have been developed over time, to adapt the gear design and fishing method to the particular conditions in which it operates. The nooks and crannies of the different gear types are described in detail in technical reports and academic literature, and a wealth of information is available at global, regional and national level.

The large variety of fishing gears may be classified in many different ways. A common classification based on the relative movements of the gear and the target species describes the gear as active, if it is towed or otherwise moved in a deliberate pursuit of the target species (e.g. trawls, dredges, seines…), or passive, if it is stationary, with the target species moving towards it (e.g. gillnets, traps…). Another classification, based on the main elements that the gear uses, distinguishes between gears using nets (e.g. trawls, seines, gillnets…), hooks (e.g. longlines, trolling lines…), or other devices (e.g. dredges, traps, harpoons…). Gears are also classified according to their position relative to the sea bottom, as bottom-contact gears (e.g. bottom trawls, dredges, set gillnets…) or non-bottom-contact gears (e.g. drift gillnets, trolling lines…). With a view to ensuring the collection of comparable data on fishing gears throughout the world, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) developed the International Standard Statistical Classification of Fishing Gear (ISSCFG). The ISSCFG, introduced in 1971 and revised in 1990 and 2016, provides a broad categorisation of all types of fishing gear and operational practices, and is widely used in fisheries statistics around the world (see Annex).

This handbook provides a general overview of the main fishing gears currently used in the EU, outlining the essentials of what each gear is and how it works. The gear categories are structured according to the latest 2016 version of the ISSCFG. For each gear, the handbook indicates:

• The FAO standard abbreviation and the ISSCFG code, which identify the gear in fisheries statistics;
• The name of the gear in Danish (DK), German (DE), Spanish (ES), French (FR), Italian (IT), Dutch (NL) and Portuguese (PT); [1]
• The type of fishing (i.e. active or passive);
• The target group of species (and, if relevant, the water depth or the bottom characteristics of the zone where the gear commonly operates). This refers in particular to:
  • pelagic species (living in the water column);
  • demersal species (living close to the seabed);
  • benthic species (living on or under the seabed).
• A concise description of the typical gear design and the basic principle of the operation method, accompanied by an illustration of the gear.[2]
• The main EU fishing fleets that use the gear, either as the main gear or as a subsidiary gear, according to the EU Fleet Register.[3]

For more information on each specific gear, a link to the corresponding FAO factsheet is provided. The handbook concludes with a list of further reading on the topic.

[1]        The gear names in French and Spanish are based on the respective versions of the FAO technical paper 672, ‘Classification et définition illustrée des engins de pêche’ and ‘Clasificación y definición ilustrada de los artes de pesca’. The names in Danish, German, Italian, Dutch and Portuguese are from the ‘Multilingual dictionary of fishing gear’ and the Fisheries – Practical guide.

[2]        This section is based in particular on the FAO technical paper 672 ‘Classification and illustrated definition of fishing gears’, on the FAO online factsheets), and on the Seafish guide ‘Basic fishing methods’.

[3]        Database consulted on 22 May 2024. The Fleet Register shows the fishing vessels registered by a Member State at a given time, based on information provided by Member States. However, in some cases, particular gears are absent from the list registered by a Member State, but mentioned as present in  the Member State in question in other reports (e.g. in the Catalogue of fishing gear in the Mediterranean and Black Sea region).