Over the last eight years, the Notus Trawlmaster net monitoring system has been installed on over 200 vessels across the UK and Ireland. One of the main reasons for its popularity is that the Trawlmaster system was specifically designed for twin-rigging.
Two brothers from Kilkeel in Northern Ireland, Lee Murdock (skipper of MFV Daisy II) and Stefan Murdock (skipper of MFV Willing Lad) are perfect examples of the importance on the use of Notus.
The Murdock brothers each skipper twin-rig trawlers and are using Notus to wirelessly monitor their gear on a continual basis. They know at a glance – [1] the spread on each net, [2] the length of each of the three wires from boat to door/clump, and [3] if the clump is in line with the doors. The vessels each work the four sensor arrangement, having one sensor in each door and two on the clump. The vessels are targeting prawns and are currently fishing out of Northeast Scotland.
By monitoring the spread of each door, the brothers know their gear is setup correctly for the ground they’re on, and allows them to detect problems quickly. Knowing something is wrong straight away saves wasting a tow and damaging gear. Skipper Lee Murdock of the Daisy II comments “we use Notus all the time and know quickly by the spread displayed if we pick up a boulder or break a bridle.” In this case, a notable decrease in spread is seen.
Both brothers have been extremely pleased with their Notus gear. “We put the Notus system into the Willing Lad when we built it in 2010. ” says Lee Murdock. Their latest acquisition, the Daisy II, also uses the Notus twin-rig system.
FiskerForum.com
