BARCO DA ARTE DA XAVEGA and PELAGIC STERN TRAWLER

[aukepalmhof]

The stamp issued by Portugal in 1978 shows us two fishing vessels a modern one and an old wooden vessel, by the last is given that she is a “barco da arte da xávega” of which Aak to Zumbra a dictionary of the World’s Watercraft gives:

Used in Portugal south for fishing mainly for sardines, off the Algarve coast.
Worked out from the beaches with a bag net (xávega). Assisted by a small open calimeira (or calima) that attached itself to the seaward end of the net to signal the direction to pull the net. The boat has a square stern; 3 oars per side. An acostado (see enviada) transported the catch to shore, and at times towed the barca. Elongated raised bow supported by a gammon knee; curved tall stemhead, with a knob on top, sometimes covered with wool. Sternpost curved and also tall, but with a fiddlehead at the top. Similar but lower fiddleheads at the bow, sometimes considered to be stylized snake heads. Carvel planked flat floors, long straight keel, rounded bilges, bilge keels, stern fuller than bow. Open, moderate sheer. Steered with an oar. Employed 5 – 10 oars per side, single tholepins.
Reported lengths 9 – 10m e.g. length 9.7m, beam 2.5m, depth 0.7m.

Portugal 1978 5E sg1689, scott?

Wikipedia gives and translate by Google https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/X%C3%A1vega on this fishing.

The xávega is an artisanal fishing made with a seine net and its equipment is composed of a long cable with floats, having in its half length a conical shaped net bag (xalavar). In the past, the setting and pulling in was done with the help of oxen joints and manual force, currently by mechanical traction by two tractors.

The xalavar is placed in the sea, far from the coast by a vessel, which unwinds half of the cable, one end of which is tied to one of the two intervening tractors. The fishermen surround the schools of fish on the high seas and return to the beach by unrolling the other half of the cable so that its end can be wound onto the second tractor.

The xávega ends with the arrival on land and the opening of the xalavar (conical shaped net bag) containing the fish.

This type of fishing was practiced on several beaches along the Portuguese coast, persisting in some, such as Espinho Beach, Nazaré, Torreira Beach, Vagueira Beach, Mira Beach, Tocha Beach (Palheiros da Tocha), Praia da Vieira, Praia do Pedrógão, Praia da Saúde and Fonte da Telha on Costa da Caparica. The collection of the xalavar by animal traction and arm force, ends approximately in the 70's in Costa da Caparica. Currently in Portugal, the xávega is carried out by mechanical means.

The word xávega comes from the Arabic etymology xábaka, which means network. The name xávega was used by fishermen in southern Portugal. In the center and north coast an identical type of fishing was practiced but with many differences, that is: the boats, different in shape (crescent moon) and in size, also flat-bottomed and with their bow much higher for better withstand the momentum of the waves, they had a much greater carrying capacity than the boats of the south.

Initially, the term xávega was used only by fishermen from the south, namely those from the Algarve coast and it was possible to define the net as well as the boat itself. In the center and north coast, the term that used to be called this type of fishing was simply "the arts" or "the campaigns of the arts". As a matter of law and because laws are made for the whole country, people started to call (wrongly) xávega to all types of fishing involving the trawl in which the nets are pulled ashore.

This fishing gear has its equivalent in other parts of the Iberian Peninsula and in Morocco. It is very popular in Malaga (Spain), where jábega, in addition to the hammock, also gives its name to the traditional boat, the Jábega barge.
Trawling art fishing, which includes Art-Xávega fishing is regulated by Decree 1102-F / 2000, of 22 November, amended by Decree 244/2005, of 8 March.

Xávega is defined by the arts that characterize it (nets, boats, etc.) and not by the method of traction used in the hauling, which was initially made by oxen joints, and then was made by hand with the help of haulers and tractors.
Arte Xávega is a tradition that, from year to year declined on some beaches in the country, such as Nazaré, where it only take place as recreations for tourists.

On the top of the stamp is a pelagic stern fishing vessel visible, of which I have not any information. It looks a large vessel, so most probably used for deep sea fishing. She will stay for a long time at sea till her holds are filled with frozen fish.
After taking the fish on board, it will be processed and deep-frozen before put in the reefer hold.
Fish that live in the upper water column of the ocean are targeted by pelagic/ mid-water trawls. The funnel-shaped trawl nets are hauled by either one or two boats (pair trawls).
Pelagic vessels generally fish for a single species (unlike the demersal trawls). On very large vessels, fish such as herring and mackerel are pumped onboard the vessel through a large pipe placed in the end of the net.
Smaller vessels haul nets on-board. Once captured, the fish is either kept chilled on board or processed and deep-frozen at sea.

Source: Internet.