| Unit Information | Game Strategies | History |
The Fishermen is a small, unarmed fishing boat used to gather Fish and Whales.
Fishermen need to be sent to a Fish or Whales rare resource in order to gather basic resources. Fish and Whales appear on the minimap as green spots in the ocean. Currently unexploited resource locations blink on the minimap if a fishing boat is selected. Once a Fishermen unit arrives at a resource location, it deploys itself and a fishing net appears next to the boat. Only one Fishermen unit per nation is allowed to gather at a particular location. Deployed Fishermen can be ordered to pack again, causing them to haul in the net and become mobile again. The deploying/packing process takes around 3 seconds.
The food production rate of Fishermen can be increased by researching Agriculture (+50%), Crop Rotation (+100%) and Food Industry (+200%) at the Granary; the non-food gathering rates are increased by researching Taxation (+20%), Vassalage (+50%), Social Contract (+100%) and Income Tax (+200%).
Note that the Porcelain Tower and the Nubians' Power of Trade have no effect on gather rates of Fishermen, as ocean is always considered neutral territory.
Fishermen have a very limited line of sight, so they usually have to rely on other ships (like the early Bark) to spot resource locations and incoming enemies for them. Because of their rather slow speed and packing time, Fishermen are usually easy prey for most combat vessels, with the few exceptions being Triremes, Galleys and basic Fire Rafts.
Rare resources[]
- Copper increases the hitpoints of ships and Factory units by 20%; in the case of the Fishermen, they receive +34 hit points for a total of 204 hit points.
- Whales increase the speed of sailing ships (including Fishermen) by 20%.
Nation powers[]
- The British Power of Empire: Get one free Fishermen whenever a Dock is built.
- The Japanese Power of Honour: Fishermen produce 25% more resources.
Trivia[]
- The Fishermen is the only civilian unit built in the Docks.
- The modern Fishermen is modeled after the Orca, the shark fishing boat from the 1975 horror/thriller film Jaws.
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