The Mackerel fishery in Faroese waters calls for many different tasks. Being more or less exclusively caught by the larger pelagic vessels with 5000 horse power (HP) plus in the past, the Mackerel is now also divided onto the white fish trawlers which usually fish for Saithe, Cod and other similar species.
Vónin has received inquiries from vessels with a bollard pull as little as 2 tonnes. The pelagic vessels usually have a bollard pull in the range from 50 to 130 tonnes. This means small trawls – really small, almost miniature. And it’s quite a challenge. All the dimensions in these trawls have to be scaled down to an absolute minimum in order for the smaller boats to reach the required towing speed for the fast-swimming Mackerel.
The most recent trawl for the smaller vessels was delivered in late July. It was a 336 metre circumference hex mesh trawl intended for pair trawling with vessels with around 500 HP. The vessel taking the trawl on board was the “Skálafossur” VN559. (picture) The idea is to pair trawl alternately with “Hansa Maria” FD747 and “Búgvin” FD82.
After their first journey the crew was quite pleased with the result. They caught 3 tonnes of Mackerel in the very first tow which lasted just over two hours. They had no problem reaching the speed required for the Mackerel and the handling on deck went very well. After a couple of days they brought in 15 tonnes, so all in all they were quite happy.
