Skipper Karsten Mølgaard from Hirtshals has reported that getting a new set of 15 VF flying trawl doors from Thyborøn Trawldoors was a “very good experience”.
Mr Mølgaard, part owner of the Isafold HG 333, said that he initially ordered a set of 13m² 15 VF flying doors but was advised to go up in size and take the 15m² 15 VF. “The set really worked out well”, he said.
Isafold has been fishing sand eel in the North Sea with the flying doors in only eight fathoms of water.
“Fishing sand eel and sprat are usually done with bottom doors,” explains Mr Mølgaard. “The flying 15 VF keeps off the bottom which has several advantages. The trawl doors have a great spread and keeps it that way when towing and turning the vessel around. This way we have had up to 350 tonnes of fish in one tow. The 15 VF are much easier to tow and we clearly use less fuel using the flying doors.”
Mr Mølgaard’s colleague Fridi Magnusson of the Asbjørn HG 265 says that he has found the same good qualities when using the 15 VF flying doors. Mr Magnusson also has a set of 15 m² doors on his vessel.
Sales manager Jan Bundgaard from Thyborøn Trawldoors says that the exact savings of fuel depends on many factors.
“The thorough testing of the doors in tanks and the practical experiences from vessels at sea proves lower fuel consumption. This adds up to a lot of money considering the amount of fuel a vessel is using”, he said.
In Iceland, Brim Seafood has ordered two sets of pelagic Apollo Xstream trawl doors for mackerel fishing. The company's vessels Brimnes RE 27, Guðmundur Í Nesi RE 13 and Kleifaberg OF 2 already have Thyborøn Trawldoors type 7 and 12 for fishing Greenland halibut and whitefish.
