Zephyr features Vónin blue whiting package

Following delivery of the Zephyr from Larsnes Mekaniske Verksted yard in Norway to the Shetland Islands, skipper Allister Irvine and his crew looked carefully at the fishing gear options for the 75.4m, 2467 cubic metre capacity pelagic trawler.

The team decided they wanted the 2304m Blue Whiting trawl, with a pair of Tornado doors and a couple of heavy duty Blue Whiting codends. They had used Vónin Blue Whiting gear on their former vessel.

Robust trawl

Zephyr’s trawl is made with its forenet meshes spliced from Vónin’s Capto rope to give the gear the strength and flexibility it needs for coping with the demanding Blue Whiting fishery that takes place west of Ireland in the early part of each year.

This is a fishery that’s characterised by frequent heavy weather and big bags of fish taken from the dense marks of migrating Blue Whiting, so a robust set of fishing gear is essential.

Versatility

The Vónin trawl gear is matched with an 11sqm pair of the Tornado doors that have been shown to be remarkably versatile, performing from just below the surface to close to the seabed, said Vónin.

They can be rigged for a variety of trawl gears and towing speeds from 1.50 knots to more than five knots, and they can handle both parallel and V-rig configurations.

Five foils and a patented Flow Booster generate exceptional lift. Pelagic skippers have repeatedly mentioned that they see the doors square away as soon as they hit the water, spreading rapidly as the Flow Booster kicks in, stated Vónin.