This was my first trip on a trawl vessel in Chile, with a fleet that targets common hake. We set off from the San Vincent port in the central southern part of Chile (around Latitude 36°S). The vessel is an industrial trawler and is pretty large, measuring 60 m which is much larger than the smaller swordfish vessels I am used to. Despite the size, I was surprised to see the ease with which the skipper perfectly manoeuvred ship away from the harbour, as if he was pulling out of a parking space in a car. This was especially impressive as there were several other vessels all at close quarter.
By eleven o’clock in the evening we had reached the middle of the Golf of Arauco and were heading north east to the fishing zone. I was given a private cabin from a crew member who was on leave, so I was quite comfortable. The first days are always tough as you get used to the movement of the vessel, I turned in to sleep before the first day trawling.
I awoke to heavy activity as the captain took the vessel through four trawls each lasting three or four hours. The crew were enthusiastic and there was generally a good atmosphere onboard. I took my time to get used to the routine and worked out the best and safest location for the seabird abundance surveys whilst I appreciated the calm seas and warm sun.
The fishing started well, and the crew explained how they would take two turns, night and day to process the catch. At the end of the afternoon they changed the gear so that they could fish mid-water trawls during the evening. In general this is heavy work and requires a larger crew than the swordfish vessels. I kept meeting people I had never seen before on the vessel!
As the days rolled by I noticed how calm the crew were, no doubt pleased with the good catches. After a couple of days the sea began to swell and the wind picked up. This weather seemed to mimic the growing nerves as Chile played in the world cup that day!
My work onboard is complicated due to the amount of machinery at the aft of the vessel, so I quickly became used to the dirty greasy conditions that made up my observation platform. This spot gave me a great view of the zone immediately aft of the vessel, so although filthy it was in some regards ideal.
The quantity of pelicans was incredible (I have never seen so many), the various gulls, black-browed albatross and a few Salvin’s were pushed back due to the overpowering presence of the pelicans. As Chile has a narrow continental shelf, the trawl fishery operates close enough to shore that the pelicans easily reach the vessels.
Despite the fact that the trawl cables are relatively low to the wáter, I still observed various impacts between the birds and the fishing gear. These were mainly with pelicans though, which were everywhere! The fishing was excellent and the factory was discarding the remains of the fish processing which poured out into the water. The pelicans were going crazy to scoop it up as the vessel lurched forwards slowly into the swell.
Once the crew had filled 9,000 fish boxes, the ship’s hold reached full capacity and the captain steered us toward the port. We left the fishing zone around midnight and steamed into port during a beautiful sunrise over San Vincente.