Is pair fishing legal?

[Helgafolkboot]

About 350 sea miles west of Plymouth I ran into fishing boats operating very close together. Having to tack into a SW wind made it hard to get around both boats. I was tempted to go between but some inner sense stopped me. Talking to a British friend who lives in Germany. He said just as well I had not gone between as they may have had a single net strung between the two fishing boats. First I couldn't understand what he meant by pear fishing but then he explained it was pair fishing. He said in most places he thought it was illegal but maybe not in international waters.

 

[john_morris_uk]

I think your friend is mistaken. It’s not illegal (unless there’s some specific bylaw in German waters) and pair trawling even gets its own rules regarding lights etc in IRPCS. Fishing in Proximity - Trawling - Pair Trawlers

 

[Helgafolkboot]

I looked at your attachment and I can not see any difference in the lights than with normal fishing. During the day it can be much harder to work out.
I was in fog approaching Newport and the fishing boats in the main New York traffic lanes were everywhere and quite close together. There was nothing to indicate whether they were pair fishing. The fishermen radio traffic was constant on Channel 16, so I couldn't talk to them. They tended to take off when they saw a strange wooden sailing boat fortunately. It was very scary but fortunately very few ships, I only saw one.

 

[john_morris_uk]

I looked at your attachment and I can not see any difference in the lights than with normal fishing. During the day it can be much harder to work out.
I was in fog approaching Newport and the fishing boats in the main New York traffic lanes were everywhere and quite close together. There was nothing to indicate whether they were pair fishing. The fishermen radio traffic was constant on Channel 16, so I couldn't talk to them. They tended to take off when they saw a strange wooden sailing boat fortunately. It was very scary but fortunately very few ships, I only saw one.

ANNEX II 2 TWO FISHING VESSELS IN CLOSE PROXIMITY ADDITIONAL SIGNALS COLREGS PREVENTION OF COLLISIONS AT SEA REGULATIONS AVOIDANCE AUTONOMOUS NAVIGATION SHIPS RULES OF THE ROAD IMO HIGHWAY CODE

The rule on pair trawling is Annex 2 Rule 2(b)

Fishing vessels can be very confusing and often seem to be a law unto themselves and act in what appears to be very unpredictable ways. Even when they appear to have altered course to keep clear I keep a very careful watch on them as their movement can be erratic and unpredictable. I usually try to keep we’ll clear but when there are lots of them it becomes a real headache.
Pair trawling isn’t illegal though, no matter what your friend says (unless there’s some German bye law for their waters?)

 

[jamie N]

Helgafolkboot: interesting as the discussion is, do you by any chance own a wooden Folkboat.....?
Just curiosity from an owner of a wooden Folkboat that was made with love in East Germany!

 

[Clancy Moped]

I've seen it in Italy, and they didn't give thrupenny bit who's in the way.

 

[john_morris_uk]

I've seen it in Italy, and they didn't give thrupenny bit who's in the way.

Indeed. I’ve been in a warship in the Mediterranean and the command being utterly bemused (otter words are available) by the antics of local fishing vessels and ferries.

 

[srm]

Used to see pair trawlers in Scottish east and north coast waters. They usually flew code flag "T" - Tango, single letter meaning "keep clear".