Navigating fishing TRAWLERS in the MED

[HighTide9000]

Hi everyone,

We started cruising the Med last year and occasionally find ourselves on a close course with fishing trawlers. As a general rule we give these vessels a pretty massive berth often altering our course to the tune of around 45° (sometimes more!).
I'd like to pick the collective brain here and get an idea of how long and deep these nets typically are. Presumably they start sinking pretty soon after being thrown overboard, but I'd like to understand at what distance I can start relaxing that we're not going to foul our prop.

Thanks in advance!

[psk125]

As discussed in another thread about shrimp boats, the depth and length of the nets depend upon what they're fishing for. Unless you know what fish they're going after in the area you're in, and what sort of net is used for each kind of fish, it's going to be a guessing game. In Alaska they use vanes to spread the nets open wide, so passing anywhere near a fishing vessel there can be a problem. Your idea of giving them a massive berth - like 100 meters or more - sounds like a good one. If it's not enough, they're likely to let you know!