Notus Electronics Ltd (Notus) of Canada has received and delivered an order for 40 Trawlmaster net monitoring systems. The need for these systems arose due to the newly adopted sector quota system in the Northeast ground fish fishery.
The new sector program is an effort to continue rebuilding Northeast groundfish. Vessels come together in groups known as sectors. The total allowable catch for the sector is dependent on the history of the member vessels. In this program, knowing how much fish is in the cod-end is paramount. In response to this issue, Mr. Vito Giacalone, Director of the Gloucester Fishing Community Preservation Fund, set out to help the Gloucester fleet acquire catch control (i.e. trawl monitoring) technology. The Fund’s mandate is to preserve and protect Gloucester’s traditional small fishing businesses. Mr. Giacalone commented: “This equipment is an extraordinary tool for trawl fishermen to have finer control of their catches. These systems will allow them to meter the use of their valuable quota’s to meet their fishing plans and remain safely within their allowable catches while complying with the full retention requirements of the Sector system.”
The Gloucester fleet had looked at a number of solutions for a catch control system. In the end, the Notus Trawlmaster was chosen due to the company’s reputation for supplying mature net monitoring products, good service and gear location capabilities. Forty (40) Trawlmaster systems have been delivered that consists of a catch sensor on the cod-end, a hull mounted transducer and command unit in the wheelhouse. Some vessels also have other Notus capabilities: doorspread, trawl wire lengths, door angle, headline height, etc.
The catch sensor sends a wireless signal to the vessel indicating if the cod-end has the desired amount of fish. This allows sector vessels to precisely manage their quotas. For example, with the Trawlmaster a vessel can easily target a specific amount of cod in a single day.
Commenting on the monumental order, Mr. Brad Henderson – Managing Director of Notus commented: “We are very happy to be working with Gloucester Fishing Community Preservation Fund. Helping vessels improve the long term sustainability of their livelihoods is a major goal of Notus.”
