Marport of Iceland used the Glasgow Fishing 2004 to announce its latest wireless monitoring system to improve control and efficiency in single and twin rig trawling.
It consists of wireless trawl sensors and a hull-mounted hydrophone, while the bridge instrumentation comprises of an acoustic receiver, computer and display software. The bridge computer can be fitted with a wireless local area network (WLAN) that can handle large amounts of data quickly with a range of 30m.
By using a WiFi (wireless fidelity 802.11 IEEE standard) network, the trawl sensor data can be sent to a variety of wireless receiving devices located around the vessel -- including laptops, desktops, tablet PCs and handheld devices. So the basic configuration can be scaled up as much as the customer requires.
Underwater wireless sensors on the trawl transmit real-time measurements to the control for visual display. The software is Marport CommandViewâ„¢. Marport says the trawl system is compatible with third party systems and "is very sensibly priced".
For the technically minded, Marport says the new, standalone acoustic receiver has enhanced signal processing algorithms and an increased sensor detection range of over 2,500m; enhanced sensor data filtering and smoothing; a 50 per cent longer battery life and open architecture design which means a customer can install the system software on commercially available, [off-the-shelf] computer and display hardware.
The new net sounder has integrated depth and temperature facilities; a new sensor to measure the height of the trawl opening; new door spread sensors -- including 144 kHz double distance sensors that provide valuable information about the distance between trawl doors on single or twin rigged trawls.
