The installation of the Wesmar TCS780 trawl system on board the 105m catcher/processor Vladivostok has been hailed a big success.
To begin with, the system has increased the vessel’s daily catch by a massive 70%. Add to that a reduction in trawling time, which resulted in significant fuel savings, and it is easy to understand why the owners of this vessel, Russian Joint Stock Company (JSC) TURNIF, outfitted its entire fleet of six large fishing vessels, with Wesmar trawl systems.
According to the navigator and former sonar operator of the vessel, Victor Lukyanov, the success of any fishing operation depends on the trawl equipment because it determines the extent of information available about the trawling operation.
Lukyanov said it is the knowledge of what is happening at the trawl net that affects the quantity and, most importantly, the quality of the catch.
“Before the Wesmar TCS780, we used other trawl equipment. It gave only limited information about the vertical opening of the net and about the fish entering the net. With the TCS780, we have a full and clear picture of vertical and horizontal opening of the net, position of the doors and distance between them, fish entering the net, depth of trawl, temperature of the water and more.
“Also the TCS780 can be supplied with catch sensors to inform the captain and crew about the amount of catch in the net. This allows him to minimise the trawling time, which saves fuel, one of the most significant operating expenses. Also, catch sensors prevent the net from being overfilled, allowing us to keep the most quality part of the catch. This was not possible when we used the previous equipment.”
Following the installation of the TCS780 system, the daily catch of Vladivostok increased between six and eight times, Lukyanov said.
The new trawl equipment helped the crew discover that the information about the geometry of trawl was far from complete and that the doors were not positioned correctly.
“Wesmar TCS780 allowed the crew of the Vladivostok not to just detect the above problems but also to continuously monitor the trawl and make sure the parameters of trawl are optimal and the process of trawling is going in the most effective way,” said Lukyanov.
