UK authority Seafish will be running a series of trawl gear training courses at the Sintef Flume Tank in Hirtshals in 2016.
The courses are scheduled for January and February 2016 and will take the form of two days of intensive gear work in the flume tank and one day studying some of the measures that are being trialled and used in the Danish nephrops fishery. These courses are wholly Seafish funded therefore open to fishermen from across the UK.
The initial part of the course introduces participants to the flume tank, its possibilities and explains thoroughly to the fishermen what actually happens to their gear as they make everyday alterations to their own gear. The course will go through a standard gear syllabus that is relevant to all trawling and covers the principles of trawl gear. All types of trawling will be covered.
Time will also be spent demonstrating and experimenting with model gear similar to that used by the participating fishermen. An integral part of the project is to get a scale model constructed of a Nephrops trawl that is in common use by local fishermen in the Irish Sea nephrops fishery.
The course is suitable for skippers and crew from all sizes of vessel who are interested in expanding their knowledge and understanding of their trawl gear and learning more about the various devices that are in common use for discard reduction and how they would relate to the Irish Sea nephrops fishery.
For more information please contact Mike Montgomerie at m_montgomerie@seafish.co.uk.
