Danish pelagic vessel Ruth docked in the Faroes at the end of last week with 2600 tonnes of mackerel valued at DKK20 million (€2.69 million) on board for its first trip of 2017.
This outstanding trip has been followed by a short trip worth an estimated DKK12 million (€1.60 million), so since Ruth was delivered new in March last year, it has fished for an impressive DKK217 (€29.18 million) million in only ten months.
One of the keys to Ruth’s success is the fishing gear used for fishing mackerel and herring. Ruth’s owners invested in two 1216 metre Gloria Helix pelagic trawls supplied by Hampiðjan’s Danish partner company Cosmos Trawl, designed by Arne T Olesen and Leif Lykke, the company’s sales and production manager at its Hirtshals and Skagen locations. According to Arne Olesen, these trawls are made in sizes ranging from 960 to 1400 metres. These are designed specifically for fishing mackerel and herring and have also been used for catching brisling in the North Sea and the Baltic with excellent results.
‘The first 1216 Gloria Helix was for Cattleya, which was a newbuild, and this vessel’s operators have altogether bought four trawls of this design. As for Ruth, they left for their first trip on the 17th March last year and have trusted this trawl for those ten months. This has given them a catch of 24,000 tonnes worth DKK185 million for 2016 and they have made a great start to 2017. It’s noticeable that this is a confirmation that the design is right and the strength is there, as in ten months they have needed to repair only four meshes,’ Arne T Olesen said.
Ruth is the flagship of the Danish pelagic fleet. It measures 87.80 metres overall with a 16.60 metre beam and was built at the Karstensens yard in Skagen. It is also the first of its kind to be outfitted with three trawl winches, making it capable of towing two pelagic trawls side-by-side.
