Global GPS application specialist, Orolia, has been awarded a contract worth over €1m by French maritime technology manufacturer, Thalos SAS, for the supply of tuna fish aggregating device (FAD) tracking buoys.
Orolia says that these are the first ever FAD multibeam tuna tracking buoys which feature five independent echo sounders.
Orolia also signed a new two year agreement that gives Thalos the rights to independently manage the FAD tuna tracking buoy software for its existing customer base.
In addition, the agreement, which started at the end of January 2013, gives Thalos the exclusive rights to sell to software and buoys within the global tuna seine fishing market.
The new multibeam tuna buoy and onboard software enables fishermen to continuously monitor fish activity under and around the FAD more accurately, allowing them to make more cost effective decisions.
Jeremy Harrison, president and CEO of Orolia, told World Fishing & Aquaculture: "Over a period of time, with data provided through additional sensors included within the buoy, fishermen can start to build up a trend analysis on tuna fish behaviour in relation to certain parts of the seas and oceans."
He added: "The five individual echo sounder transducers give a wider range of coverage directly underneath the buoy as well as peripheral vision below the surface level of the sea. As a result, fishermen get visibility of the amount of activity taking place enabling them to determine the size of the shoal. They are also able to calculate the likely location of the shoal in relation to the FAD through the use of an internal heading sensor."
