MAY 2015 THE SKIPPER
Trawl Tech 29
Fishing is one industry that is in a constant state of change - new technology
brings changes almost on a daily basis - and top skippers seek to find the best
gear, the best way of catching and landing fish in top quality, and vitally, the most
economical means of operating a fishing venture. Maximising catching ability is of
course totally reliant on good fishing gear and the latest in electronic fishing aids.
It is with this in mind that The Skipper this month looks at Trawl Technology - and
examines the latest and most up-to-date fish finding equipment and trawl gear
available to owners/skippers of today’s vessels.
Barry Electronics
Marport Deep Sea Technology
Marport have launched the new M3
Receiver in December 2014. This
new receiver is designed as a highly
sophisticated multi-function acoustic
receiver. It uses leading edge digital
signal processing that has combined
with the smartest software available
to make possible multi-channel
operation without any compromise
between transmission range and
signal detection.
The M3 is designed to meet the needs
of smaller vessels, accommodating
a series of full-function channels to
allow simultaneous use of standard
sensors, net sounders – including
narrow band – and high resolution
net sounders, all of which can be
configured to suit the most advanced
net monitoring system.
This is the new M3 receiver is
adapted to the needs of smaller vessel
this fleet. without losing any of the
characteristics and performance of
the bigger M4 receiver.
“This new receiver has also
allowed us to offer smaller vessels
a sophisticated catch monitoring
receiver to the small pelagic trawlers
and white fish vessels,” explains
Marport France . This allows the
vessel to see a number of parameters
on one screen from one sensor. These
can include Door Distance, Pitch
and Roll and Depth from one sensor.
Fishing Skippers can now see in
real time exactly what the doors are
doing at anytime during the tow and
makes the system one of the best in
the market.
Marport’s sensors have been
designed from the start to work
seamlessly with other systems. We
don’t see why you should have to
fit an entire system when a single
sensor or receiver needs replacing,
all Marport sensors and bridge
equipment work seamlessly with
other manufacturers’ sensors and
wheelhouse displays. All sensors are
compatible with Scanmar, Simrad
and Wesmar sensors.
Marport have introduced the new
Dual Clump. This system shows if
the clump is ahead, behind or inline
with the port and starboard doors.
People with standard Marport clumps
can upgrade to the Dual Clump
option.
For further details on any of the
above please contact Chris Joyce at
Barry Electronics for further details
Tel 074 97312
HBG Services
Nupur
Marport Door Monitoring for White
Fish Vessels
A Marport Door System will save
fuel and reduces damage to trawl
gear. Immediately you will know if
your doors are standing up straight
or falling in, if you have picked up a
stone or if you have damaged your
gear. It is proven that with a proper
functioning door system your trawl
efficiency will go up by 15 to 20%.
Marport Trawl sensors are designed
to play a role as a contributing factor
Marport Deep Sea Technology
M3 Reciever
in maximising efficiency, targeting
fishing at the most productive spots
and keeping fishing time to the
minimum needed for your quota
while keeping your fuel bills to a
minimum.
Tunnel Sensor
You can upgrade existing trawl systems to Marports M3 reciever
which is compatible with existing catch and door sensors
Call Barry Electronics for more details!
Trawl Tec 2000
HBG service was founded in
January 2004 by Heimir B. Gislason
and Sólrún Hansdóttir and their
objective from the beginning was to
deliver service to the fishing industry
Trawl Tec 2000 can be used in
variable Fishing, trawling and Line
fishing, from small boats up to big
vessels. Trawl Tec 2000 for trawlers
measures the tension and the length
of the wires. It save both time and
equipment.
Trawl Tec Line measures the speed
of the line when shooting and
hauling in plus the tension of the
line when hauling in, which is good
for saving engine power and in bad
weather to have less tension of the
line.
Trawl Tec Line 2000 is equipped
with GPS. The system is user
friendly and used in several fisheries
and it can help to increase catches
and lower cost.
Gunnar Jóhannsson captain on
Sigurbjörg ST-55 says:
“It was a good decision to invest in
Trawl Tec. It has saved us a great
deal of time after we started to use
this equipment because before we
often had to pull wires and rope to
a shore. Both wires and ropes were
often damaged in that process. Fuel
consumption has also decreased by
10-15% due to less engine power
usage when towing and hauling.
Decreased reparation for trawl and
other engine equipment has also
been noticeable. In my experience
this equipment pays for itself in
matter of a relatively short time. After
my experience I can only highly
recommend Trawl Tec.”
“Trawl Tec 2000 Line makes our
work at sea much easier. We have
more overview of the line, both
when setting the line as well as
controlling the tension when hauling
in, especially in rough weather.
I highly recommend this equipment.”
Jón Bessi Árnason captain on
NÚPUR BA 69
30 Trawl Tech
THE SKIPPER MAY 2015
Ibercisa
Electrical Drive Technology in the
Fishing Fleet
Denmark, USA, Russia are amongst
the countries that have made a
concerted effort to renew their
fishing fleets in order to reduce
costs and comply with increasingly
strict environmental laws, choosing
electrical drive technology in a bid
to achieve these ends. Electric drive
on equipment not only reduces the
space required for its installation but
is lighter and more efficient giving
better winch performance.
The Faroe company, KSS (www.
kss.fo), is the Sales and Service
partner of Ibercisa in Denmark,
Faroe, Greenland, Sweden and
within fishing Ireland, Scotland and
Shetland.
Ibercisa, a company devoted since
its inception to the design and
manufacture of deck
machinery is very aware of how
greatly the demand for electrically
driven machinery has
become over the last few years.
Ibercisa will supply winches for
the Danish highly modern pelagic
vessels, Ruth HG 264 and Beinur
HG 62, being built at Karstensen
Shipyard due in 2016.
The vessels, 88m and 78m length
have been equipped with 3 main
trawl winches, two “purse seiners”
and 4 net drums. The order for each
vessel comprises a total of 27 and 16
electric winches driven by frequency
variators and with AFE energy return.
In the U.S.A. Fishermen Finest based
in Seattle will build a new trawler
ST-116XL design for delivery in
2016. It is the first vessel to be built
according to new construction rules
in the states and will give impulse
to the incorporation of technology
which is more environmentally
friendly and with which the North
American company has decided to
prioritize fuel consumption efficiency
by installing electric deck machinery.
The Ibercisa order includes, the
control systems, 2 electric trawl
winches, 2 gilson electric winches,
6 electric sweepline winches, 42
net sounder winches, 2 cod-end
winches, 3 net drums, 1 auxiliary
anchor winch, 1 mooring winch
and two auxiliary anchor winches.
This electric drive technology is
being used in the remodelling of
the Russian fishing fleet, traditional
clients of Ibercisa who have recently
signed contracts for the supply of
deck machinery for the “Kapitan
Oleynichuck”, the “Vladivostok”
and the “Borodino” which will be
remodelled to include electrically
driven machinery. Ibercisa will
supply electric trawl winches with
motors of 400 kW at 660 rpm, and a
capacity for 4,000m of 32 mm diam.
These winches have a line pull of
49,5 tons at 44 m/min on the first
layer.
55 kW engines at 1.500 rpm, with
double drums for 100m of 20mm
diam wire and 40m of 30mm diam
rope and a nominal line pull of 5,1
tons at 56 m/min on the first layer.
For this vessel the company will
also supply electric auxiliary Gilson
winches with 160 kW motors at
1,500 r.p.m. with a capacity of 125 m
of 44mm diam., rope.
The “Kapitan Oleynichuck” will have
auxiliary cod-end winches driven by
More information at:
www.ibercisa.es www.kss.fo
SNG with innovative designs such
as the new Helix self-spreading
hydrodynamic technology and
‘Pelix’.
Antarctic 11, Veronica, Paula, and
Krossfjord … to name but a few.
SNG’s mackerel and scad Helix
self-spreading trawls proved highly
successful in 2014 and 2015, when
performance reports were glowing
from the skippers of Antares, Zephyr,
For skippers, the advent of Helix and
its beneficial properties has brought
great improvement to the processes
of shooting, towing and hauling.
handling of gear. Titled ‘PELIX’, this
displays the same benefits of Helix
but with the added abrasion-resistant
qualities necessary.
This year has also seen advancements
in SNG’s blue whiting brailer design
with impressive bags of 850 tonnes
recorded on Antares, Zephyr and
Brendelen --without a damaged mesh
reference.
Swan Net-Gundry
Embracing evolution in trawl design
Enhancing their historic reputation
as leading international net
manufacturers, Swan Net Gundry
(SNG) are investing in the pursuit in
ongoing research and development
into pelagic and whitefish trawls.
The past twelve months in particular
has seen exceptional results for
Hydrodynamic technology for better fishing
Roshine Road, Killybegs, Co. Donegal, Ireland. Tel:+353 7497 31180/00 Fax:+353 7497 31574
[email protected]
www.swannetgundry.com
Tapping into technology
Most important among these is
that Helix ropes, over-braided with
colour-coded protective skins, give
trawls wider openings -- improving
performance and, in heavy weather,
help keep the net in shape. An added
benefit is that Helix ropes reduce
trawl drag, thereby improving fuel
consumption.
Testament to claims that the stiff
Helix ropes make trawls easier to
shoot and haul, and that Helix twine
is less inclined to twist, is evidenced
in that SNG customers using this
technology in blue whiting fisheries
reported zero ‘foul ups’ of gears.
SNG have advanced this technology
for pelagic pair trawlers using similar
constructed twine built with heavier
construction to withstand the rugged
Looking ahead
SNG has invested in model-testing
software using DynamiT program
to further improve the firm’s proven
designs which, including the blue
whiting brailer and Helix selfspreading trawls will be part of
SNG’s Flume Tank Workshop on
20th & 21st of May in Hirtshals,
Denmark.
This presentation will see SNG
showcase their forward-thinking
strategies with the presentation
including underwater cameras to
assist in monitoring performance –
which will benefit not just the pelagic
sector but those using all types of
demersal trawls including nephrops,
multi rig, and hopper trawls.
MAY 2015 THE SKIPPER
Trawl Tech 31
KT Nets
New twine construction at
KT Nets
As they celebrate the twelfth
anniversary of the foundation of the
company in May, KT Nets is looking
forward to an exciting and productive
show at Skipper Expo in Aberdeen.
Taking time off from his busy
schedule, managing director Danny
Gallagher, said: “One of the most
interesting projects we are involved
in at present is based on the
development of a new type of twine
in conjunction with Van Belen.
“It’s a new construction using
Van Belen materials and we are
still working on it. But the initial
feedback is very positive”, he siad.
“If anyone wants to know more
about this, we will be happy to
discuss it with them in Aberdeen on
our stand, No. 48”.
Looking back, Danny says that,
along with local work, KT Nets
have had an exceptional year’s
work with the Norwegian vessels
during the recent blue whiting
season.
“We were working all hours of the
day and the night; one morning we
didn’t get away until 4am. That’s
the commitment and dedication
of the team here to getting our
customers back fishing”, says
Danny.
One of the more recent orders
completed by KT Nets is a new
blue whiting trawl, with 2,048
metres circumference, for Eamon
McHugh’s “Antarctic”.
Killybegs, KT Nets is the most
visible of the netmaking companies
in Killybegs. They have a 300
metre runway at their disposal and
new shed with 1,000 square metres
of workspace.
Said Danny: “We used the new
construction of twine in that net and
Eamon says he is very happy with it.
It was very successful in the trials.”
At their location at Donegal Road,
KT Nets has ten full-time
employees along with part-time
staff and are looking forward
to meeting new and existing
customers in Aberdeen. Said
Danny: “We have a strong foothold
in Ireland and we are gaining
ground all the time in Scotland and
Shetland. Here’s to the next twelve
years.”
consumption and is more stable
and easy to shoot. We believe we
have achieved this with the new
Exocet and we are delighted with
the results.”
Morgère will be exhibiting at
Skipper Expo Int. Aberdeen 2015
on 29 and 30 May.
Morgere
New ‘Exocet’ trawl doors from
Morgère ideally suited for Irish
and UK fisheries
Despite only being launched at
the start of 2015, Morgère’s new
Exocet trawl door has received
much interest from skippers in
Europe and Canada and looks
set to become the ‘trawl door of
choice’ for many fishermen in the
future.
spread of the trawl opening. In
order to keep the same spread
as previously experienced by
the vessel, the angle of attack of
the doors needed to be reduced
considerably to around 25°,
significantly reducing the drag
forces experienced by the vessel.
The skipper was especially
impressed by the stability of the
doors and by the fact that they are
easy to shoot.
Exocet offers excellent stability
due to its special design where
nearly 60% of the weight of
the door is focused at the base,
with the top half much lighter.
These innovative design features
means the angle of attack of the
doors can be reduced without
comprising upon spread in the
trawl opening, resulting in savings
in fuel consumption.
The tough construction also
means that the doors are very
durable and last much longer than
standard steel doors, bringing
further cost benefits.
During trials on a working
fishing boat, it was found that
with the same angle of attack
as the vessel’s previous doors,
the Exocet achieved 10% more
“These doors are well suited
for fishing conditions found
off Ireland and the UK,” he
says. “We wanted to develop
a trawl door that reduces fuel
According to Michel Dagorn
of Morgère, the Exocet door is
incredibly versatile and can be
used in a variety of different trawl
configurations.
32 Trawl Tech
THE SKIPPER MAY 2015
Naust
Electrical winches in Fishing
vessels
Electrical winches have been
used on board fishing trawlers
for decades. Still there is some
misconception that it is more
difficult to use electrical winches
and that they require more
generator power compared to
hydraulic winches.
Naust Marine in Iceland is a world
leading manufacturer of control
equipment for electrical winches
in fishing vessels, with over 35
years of experience in making
Automatic Towing winch systems.
Since 1980, Naust Marine has
been delivering systems for some
of the biggest fishing trawlers in
three continents in addition to the
smaller modern trawlers built for
Icelandic owners. Today, more
than 100 ATW (Automatic Trawl
Winch) systems are in operation
on board trawlers all over the
world, with its latest delivery for
trawlers in Chile, Russia and USA.
Electrical winch system from
Naust Marine is also on board the
Research vessel Cefas Endeavour,
owned by the Fishery Institute in
the UK.
Some of the great advantages of
using the electrical systems versus
hydraulics is lower operational
cost (fuel cost), due to better
efficiency in the electrical systems
and possibility of using generated
power during shooting the trawl
wire. Other advantages are the
lower installation cost and less
maintenance cost.
All electrical systems from Naust
Marine on board vessels, can be
monitored over the internet, for
possible programming and fault
tracing from our technicians in the
office.
Due to the increasing demand for
various fishing winches for all type
of trawlers (bottom trawling and
pelagic trawling), Naust Marine
has started designing its own
brand of winches. The extensive
experience of the Naust Marine
staff with the fishing industry, is
the base for the winch design, as
well as the controls.
In Turkey and China alone,
five new trawlers are under
construction for Icelandic fishing
companies. In all of these projects,
Naust Marine provides winches
and winch controls where all
auxiliary winches are designed
by Naust Marine, in total of 120
winches in range from 4 kW and
up to 130 kW. Towing winches are
210 kW DC, where the regenerated
power is set back to the Main
Switchboard, during shooting.
Please visit Naust Marine for
further information and details
at Stand no 46 at the Skipper
Commercial Fishing Expo in
Aberdeen, May 29th -30th 2015.
Notus
FV Ocean Challenge: 11 Years
Working Notus and Still Going
Strong
Notus does many news stories
regarding new installations and new
products. However, some of the most
gratifying stories come from long
term customers. One such vessel is
the FV Ocean Challenge of Scotland.
Notus recently had a chat with one of
the owners, George Runcie, regarding
his experience with Notus.
The first system fitted by Notus
UK in 2004 was on the Ocean
Challenge. They installed one sensor
on each door and two on the clump
to monitor: the spread on EACH
net, the three wire lengths and the
middle wire adjustment. George
says “we’ve been very pleased with
our Notus gear.” He points to the
most important feature as the spread
on EACH net as “you need to know
what each net is doing.”
The quality of Notus’s equipment
is certainly seen on the Ocean
Challenge. Over 11 years, they’ve
only replaced batteries. All by local
agents! Considering the sensors are
installed on some of the roughest
trawl gear (middle weights/clumps),
this is a wonderful testament to the
Notus design.
Even when changing vessels 7
years ago, George says “we took
the Notus gear with us for the new
vessel.” George also provides some
details on the fishing operation. The
Ocean Challenge targets prawns off
Northeast Scotland in 55 to 90 fa.
They pay out 3:1 for the wire to depth
ratio. Typically, they are achieving
35 fa of spread on each net. They
target prawns 9-10 months per year
and a typical trip is 7 days.
Few realized at the time, but that first
installation on the Ocean Challenge
started a major change in the UK
industry. Other vessels quickly seen
the value of a wireless monitoring
system specifically designed for twin
rig. Today, over 200 systems have
been installed in the UK and Ireland.
You would be hard pressed to find a
twin rig skipper that has not used or
seen the technology.
For more information, please visit
www.notus.ca.