French company Morgere Trawl Doors has just launched a new type of midwater trawl door which it calls its Delta doors. The move was in response to several netmakers, the company said and they were developed in collaboration with the French national sea research institute at Boulogne sur Mer (where there is a special trawl testing tank) and they used software simulation and design processes to come up with what they believe is the optimum shape for the doors and the double foil on the leading edge as in Morgere''s classic door.

The first ever trawler was invented in Boulogne.

Morgere said "We have gone for a 'v' shape to make it easier to shoot the doors, for example, in bad weather. The idea was to optimise the curve of the end foil to maximise the spreading force and to reduce turbulence.

"The doors have been tested on board the surimi vessel Joseph Roty, rigged with a blue-whiting, Eggersund trawl. When comparing the new one with the existing doors on board, Captain Rene Fiquet is very enthusiastic about their stability when shooting and in normal seas. They have also a good capacity to move up and down very quickly which can be very important at certain times.

Also, they produce very little turbulence in the water and so the fish shoals enter the trawl with little disruption to their speed and direction.

The doors range in size from two to eight square metres and can be rigged with any type of door sensor . Since the official launch at the Glasgow show a dozen sets have left the St. Malo factory for different midwater operators.

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