Fishing Vessel Lights: Trawling vs Other Methods Explained

Few things aboard another vessel demand quicker recognition than the lights of a working fishing boat. A trawler dragging gear across the bottom, a longliner with hooks trailing a kilometre astern, a pair-trawler locked in formation with her partner - each presents a different collision risk and each carries different obligations under the COLREGS. Getting their lights wrong in an examination will cost you marks; getting them wrong at sea could cost considerably more.

Rule 26 is the governing rule for all vessels engaged in fishing, and it draws a sharp distinction between trawlers and every other type of fishing vessel. That distinction is not bureaucratic tidiness - it reflects a genuine difference in manoeuvrability and in the direction from which gear extends. Understanding the logic behind the lights makes them far easier to recall under pressure, whether that is in a darkened wheelhouse at 0300 or sitting a written examination.

Before going further, it is worth noting what Rule 26 does not cover. A vessel that happens to have fishing lines over the side while making way under power is not "engaged in fishing" in the COLREGS sense. Rule 26 applies only where the fishing equipment being used actually restricts manoeuvrability. A pleasure craft trolling is not, legally speaking, a fishing vessel for the purposes of these rules.

Trawlers: Green Over White

A vessel engaged in trawling - that is, dragging a net, dredge, or other apparatus through the water - shows two all-round lights in a vertical line: green over white. By day, the equivalent day shape is two cones points together, displayed in a vertical line. This double-cone shape (often called an hourglass) is one of the more recognisable shapes in the COLREGS inventory. Vessels under 20 metres in length may substitute a basket for the double-cone day shape, a practical concession that reflects the deck-space constraints of smaller working boats.

Whether a trawler is making way or not, she shows the green-over-white pair of all-round lights throughout her trawling operation - that combination is the constant signal that she is engaged in trawling. When she is also making way through the water, she adds sidelights and a sternlight to that display, in the same way that a power-driven vessel underway would. The green-over-white masthead pair persists in both states; it is the sidelights and sternlight that come and go depending on whether she has way on. In restricted waters especially, encountering a trawler at close range with gear down requires caution - her ability to alter course or stop is severely limited by whatever is attached below.

The green light on top is worth pausing over as a memory aid. Trawl gear is dragged astern of the vessel - the net streams behind her as she moves forward through the water. She needs sea room ahead to manoeuvre and cannot readily stop or turn sharply. The green-over-white combination tells everyone around her that she is constrained in a way that an ordinary power-driven vessel is not.

Other Fishing Vessels: Red Over White

Any vessel fishing by a method other than trawling - longlining, potting, netting with static gear, handlining at anchor - shows red over white all-round lights in a vertical line. The day shape is the same double-cone as for trawlers, with the same basket substitution available to vessels under 20 metres.

The red-over-white combination is sometimes remembered with the phrase "red over white, fishing at night" - a crude mnemonic but a durable one. The red light on top signals that this vessel is not trawling, and that her gear may extend horizontally in one direction rather than being dragged along astern of her.

This distinction matters enormously when it comes to the gear-extends signal.

The Gear-Extends Signal

When a non-trawling fishing vessel has gear extending more than 150 metres in any direction from the vessel, Rule 26 requires her to show an additional all-round white light, or a cone point up by day, in the direction of the gear. This signal is specific to other fishing vessels - trawlers do not use it, because their gear trails astern and the direction is implied by their heading.

The gear-extends white light is placed in the direction of the gear, not necessarily ahead or astern. A longliner with hooks running out to starboard, for instance, would show the additional white light to starboard. This tells an approaching vessel not only that the boat is fishing, but that there is submerged equipment stretching off in a known direction - information that could be the difference between a clean passage and a fouled propeller.

If you are studying for an exam, pay close attention to this detail: the additional light is only triggered at 150 metres or beyond, and it only applies to non-trawling fishing vessels. Examiners use both thresholds as distractors.

For a comprehensive breakdown of all the Rule 26 requirements alongside the other light configurations you need to know, the IRPCS rule library at /#learn organises every rule with diagrams and plain-language summaries.

Making Way Through the Water vs Not Making Way

Both categories of fishing vessel modify their light display depending on whether they are making way through the water. The all-round lights - green-over-white for trawlers, red-over-white for other fishing vessels - are shown in both states; they are the constant signal that the vessel is engaged in fishing. What changes is the addition of sidelights and a sternlight when the vessel is making way through the water. A fishing vessel that is not making way shows only her prescribed all-round lights, with no sidelights and no sternlight.

The key phrase is "through the water", and it is worth being precise about what that means. A vessel is making way through the water when there is relative motion between the vessel and the water mass around her - regardless of what the tide or current may be doing to her position over the ground. A trawler that has shot her gear and is being set sideways by a 2-knot cross-tide may be moving rapidly over the ground, but if the water is carrying her along at the same rate she has no motion through the water and is not making way in the COLREGS sense. Conversely, a vessel stemming a strong tide and barely holding position over the ground is still moving through the water and would show sidelights accordingly.

This distinction catches out exam candidates who confuse movement over the ground with movement through the water. Rule 26 keys the sidelights and sternlight to making way through the water - that is the only test that matters for this purpose.

It is also worth remembering that fishing vessels under 20 metres in length have alternative arrangements available to them under Rule 26, allowing the lights to be placed in certain combined lanterns rather than separate all-round fittings. The underlying colours and their meanings remain the same.

Day Shapes for Fishing Vessels

By day, both trawlers and other fishing vessels display two cones, points together, in a vertical line - or a basket if the vessel is under 20 metres. The double-cone is the daytime equivalent of either green-over-white or red-over-white; context and additional signals are needed to know which type of fishing is in progress.

If a non-trawling vessel has gear extending beyond 150 metres, the daytime equivalent of the additional white light is a cone point upward, displayed in the direction of the gear. The double-cone plus the point-up cone together give a vessel in the vicinity enough information to give a wide berth on the correct side.

Day shapes must be visible throughout the day and should be positioned where they can be seen all around the horizon. A crumpled cone stuffed under a winch cover does not meet the requirement, however common the practice may be on working fishing boats.

Interacting with Fishing Vessels

Fishing vessels engaged in fishing occupy a privileged position in the Rule 18 hierarchy: they generally have right of way over power-driven vessels underway and over sailing vessels. However, that privilege is not unconditional.

Rule 9 makes clear that a fishing vessel must not impede the passage of a vessel that can only navigate safely within a narrow channel or fairway. Rule 10 places a similar obligation on fishing vessels operating in or near a Traffic Separation Scheme - they must not impede the safe passage of a vessel following a traffic lane. These obligations sit in Rules 9 and 10 respectively; they are constraints placed on fishing vessels, not extensions of the Rule 18 hierarchy.

In practice, the best policy for everyone else is early and generous avoidance. A fishing vessel with gear down may genuinely be unable to alter course or slow down, and the last thing her skipper wants is a recreational sailor threading between her and her gear. Give her room, pass astern if possible, and keep a careful watch on the direction any additional white light indicates.

If you want to test your recognition of fishing vessel lights alongside the full range of COLREGS configurations, the practice quiz at /#quiz includes scenario-based questions that mirror the format used in RYA and MCA written examinations.

FAQ

What is the difference between trawler lights and other fishing vessel lights? A vessel engaged in trawling shows green over white all-round lights. All other fishing vessels - longliners, potters, netters, and so on - show red over white. Both use the same double-cone day shape during daylight hours, with a basket permitted as a substitute on vessels under 20 metres. The distinction matters because it tells other mariners how the gear is deployed and which directions to avoid.

When does a fishing vessel need to show the additional white gear-extends light? Rule 26 requires a non-trawling fishing vessel to show an additional all-round white light (or a point-up cone by day) whenever her gear extends more than 150 metres from the vessel. The light is placed in the direction of the gear, so approaching mariners know which side to pass clear of. Trawlers are not required to show this additional signal.

Does a fishing vessel have to show sidelights? Only when she is making way through the water. The all-round lights - green-over-white or red-over-white as appropriate - are shown whether or not the vessel has way on; they are the constant indicator that she is engaged in fishing. Sidelights and a sternlight are added only when she is moving through the water. A vessel being carried along by a current at exactly the same speed as the current is not making way through the water, even if she is drifting across the chart. Conversely, a vessel stemming a tide and holding her ground is still making way through the water and must show sidelights.

Are pleasure craft that happen to be fishing considered fishing vessels under COLREGS? Not unless their fishing equipment actually restricts their manoeuvrability. Rule 26 defines a vessel engaged in fishing as one using nets, lines, trawls, or similar apparatus that limits manoeuvrability. A yacht trolling a lure astern under full sail does not qualify and must comply with the rules applicable to sailing vessels, not fishing vessels.