Britanny''s iXTrawl reports that customers are happy about the reliability and robustness of its trawl sensors which work with Geonet to improve trawl positioning and allow the bridge to check if the trawl is working properly.
It says correct alignment means better hydrodynamics and so less fuel is used and the time spent trawling is reduced. The company quotes Ludovic Guennec, skipper of the 22-metre, twin-rigged trawler Bugale Sant Yann. He fishes at 350m-500m in the west of Brittany and has had Geonet for the last three years and says: “This system is much more specialised than others I have used in the past. It improves all aspects of performance and, best of all, gets everything done ten times quicker. You notice the same difference that you get with new and old cable. You can check that both doors are at the same depth
on both boats, and that, traction is
correct and matched. It is the end of fishing blind," he said.
On once occasion, he adds “We were going too fast and every 10 minutes the doors were opening five metres then coming back together. In such cases,
you sometimes give it full throttle, but in this case the opposite was needed. Geonet showed us the correct manoeuvre immediately.”
With Geonet, iXTrawl says, the data are accurately processed in real time on the screen in the wheelhouse so that skipper can react immediately for trawl operations.
The company says that the small size, quick update rate, long battery life and long range capability of GEONET mean it can be installed on any size net and single and twin trawls. Just one multifunction sensor on each door gives you a range of essential data for monitoring the
trawl including the position of each
door, spread, skewing, distance between the vessel and trawl doors, depth
and temperature.
The door-spread sensors detect if the doors are unstable and if the trawl is incorrectly rigged. This allows you to adjust for perfect trawl geometry, as well as showing the positioning of the trawl. This means you can steer your trawl when you pass near a wreck or away from a rock. The system also allows you to position the trawl in a precise zone where fish have been detected. iXTrawlIt add that Geonet interfaces with most navigation software.
