Drifter (fishing boat)
Adrifteris a type offishing boat.They were designed to catchherringin a longdrift net.Herring fishing using drifters has a long history in the Netherlands and in many British fishing ports, particularly in East Scottish ports.
Until the mid-1960s fishing fleets in theNorth Seacomprised drifters andtrawlers,with the drifters primarily targetingherringwhile the trawlers caughtcod,plaice,skateandhaddock,etc. By the mid-1960s the catches were greatly diminishing, particularly the herring. Consequently, the drifter fleet disappeared and many of the trawlers were adapted to work as service ships for the newly created North Seaoil rigs.
Some history of drifters is covered inScottish east coast fishery.
Drifters preserved asmuseum shipsincludeLydia Eva,a steam drifter of the herring fishing fleet based inGreat Yarmouth,Norfolk,[1]andReaper,a restored ScottishFifieherring drifter at theScottish Fisheries Museum.[2]
Naval drifterswere boats built in the same way used by theRoyal Navyprimarily to maintain and patrol anti-submarine nets. They were either purpose-built for naval use or requisitioned from private owners.
Image gallery
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DutchHerring Bussdrifter taking aboard its drift net, c. 1600 -
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TheReaperleavingPort Seton.Fifies like this were used for fishing off the coast of Scotland from the 1850s until well into the 20th century.
See also
[edit]- Herring Buss(Dutch precursor to the drifter)
- Fifie(widely used early drifter in Scotland)
- Manx nobby
- History of fishing in the United Kingdom
- Tradewind (schooner)
- Wylde Swan
References
[edit]- ^Lydia Eva and Mincarlo Charitable Trust
- ^National Register of Historic VesselsArchivedNovember 18, 2007, at theWayback Machine
