Crossword Genius

Controlled ship, stuffed initially with preserved fish (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

skippered

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'controlled ship' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both to do with social activities as well as being past participle verbs.
Maybe they are linked in a way I don't understand?

'stuffed initially with preserved fish' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'fish' could be 'skipper' (I've seen this before) and 'skipper' is present in the answer.
The remaining letters 'ed' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for skippered that I've seen before include "acted as captain" , "Had leading role" , "as whole team needs to be?" , "Led" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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