Marine

Fishing Gear and Flying Kites

November 1, 2018 by Marine Directorate Communications No Comments | Category Marine Directorate general, Marine Directorate Science, Marine Directorate Surveys, Research Vessel Surveys

Survey: 1618S MRV Scotia Programme

Duration: 28 October – 08 November 2018

Objectives:

1. To carryout catch comparison trials to compare the fishing performance of the BT237 against the standard survey trawl BT137 GOV rigged with ‘A’ gear.
2. To assess the fishing performance, in terms of gear geometry, of the new Vonin ‘Flyer’ kite as a replacement for the standard metal kite used with BT137.

Procedures:

General

The fishing gear will be loaded aboard and rigged prior to the start of the survey. The BT137 with ground gear ‘A’ will be rigged on the top net drum and the BT237 trawl rigged on the lower net drum. The polyvalent doors will be used with both trawls throughout the survey, spare set stored on the upper castles. Scotia will sail on 28 October and make passage for the Moray Firth where shakedown hauls will be made with both trawls.

Thereafter, and weather permitting, the vessel will proceed north to fishing grounds East of the Orkneys or Shetland Islands.

Fishing

The main objective of the survey is to compare the fishing performance between BT137 and BT237 using the alternate haul method (Objective 1). Catch comparison hauls will consist of 15 minute to 30 minute tows depending on fish species mix on the grounds. The hauls will be paired (BT137 v BT237 or BT237 v BT137) and both paired hauls must run along the same fishing track. The aim to keep the pattern, timing and environmental factors (daylight/dark periods) as constant as possible between the first and second tow in each set of paired hauls.

During the survey gear geometry data and underwater observation using a self-recording camera will be made to assess the performance of the new ‘Flyer’ plastic kite attached to BT137 (Objective 2).

Fishing Gear:

• BT137 GOV (Grand Overture Verticale) trawl rigged with ground gear ‘A’.
• BT237 (Jackson trawl) rigged with light hopper rig (300mm and 250mm discs).
• Two sets GOV polyvalent trawl doors.
• Two Vonin ‘Flyer’ plastic kites.

Further Information:

• Previous Scotia Blog Posts
• MRV Scotia Topic Sheet
• Previous Kite Trial Blog

Tags: fish species, fishing, fishing gear, Moray Firth, MRV Scotia, Orkney, science, Scotia, Shetland, Survey, trawling

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