Design concept of a Japanese purse seiner by using system engineering process

Purse seining is a major fishing method in Japan, and there are several hundreds of fishing vessels. Recently, reduced fish resources, low fish prices, and high costs for fishing products have resulted in declining profits. Furthermore, fishermen are getting older, and the number from younger generations are decreasing. Hiring new employees seems to be getting difficult in Japan. In addition, the number of shipyards for fishing vessels is decreasing. To construct a new fishing vessel, an efficient method of design is required that considers fish resource management; social demands such as employment, labor environment, and safety at sea; and generating profits. In this paper, we attempt to create a new concept for Japanese purse seiners by using a system engineering process guided by IEEE Std 1220-2005. We conducted a requirement analysis, functional analysis, and validation by using system-engineering tools, such as the interpretive structural method, morphological charts, Pugh's method, and universal modeling language. These tools facilitate in solving the specification and design variables, and a new concept of a Japanese purse seiner is presented.