Vónin
It all started in 1969 and today Vónin is a major developer and manufacturer of high quality fishing gear, aquaculture equipment as well as supplying equipment for the land base industry.
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The first trials with the Gannet3000 are so promising that the skipper of Christian í Grótinum is convinced. “This will be the trawl we are going to use for the blue whiting fishery in Faroese waters,” says Bogi Rasmussen.
It has been many years since Vónin introduced the Gannet2300 blue whiting trawl to the market. Later came the Gannet2600, a scaled-up version of the former. The numbers refer to how wide the trawl opens – how far the foremost meshes reach. This matters because pelagic fish are driven backwards through the fore-net and into the belly of the trawl before they end up in the codend. And therefore, it is possible to use meshes measuring 64 metres and 72 metres respectively for catching blue whiting, which are around 30 centimetres in length.
“Now we wanted to build an even larger blue whiting trawl,” says Jógvan S. Jacobsen, sales manager in Vónin’s pelagic division, who explains the challenge this way:
“We couldn’t simply continue to upscale the existing trawl. That creates large slack and bends in the bars of the fore-net, especially when the trawl is shot away and when it is hauled back in. That easily leads to tangles.”
Because of this, they chose to redesign the fore-net completely. In the new trawl, the foremost meshes measure 84 metres and then gradually decrease in size towards the rear. Changes have also been made to the headrope and the breastlines.
“You could say that we have tightened the frame of the trawl, so the fore-net narrows more gradually towards the rear than in previous trawls, and this is no doubt part of what makes the trawl easier to tow than we had expected,” says Jógvan S. Jacobsen.
This summer, Vónin’s trawl specialists completed the design of the new blue whiting trawl. At the very front of the fore-net there are 36 meshes of 84 metres, giving the trawl its name, Gannet3000. The results from the Vónin’s computer simulator showed that it could open roughly 325 metres in width and close to 200 metres in height. The material matches that of the Gannet2600, and the simulations also indicated that the trawl was unlikely to be as heavy as expected.
If the new trawl was to be tested in the Blue Whiting fishery this autumn, there was no time to build a physical model for the flume tank at Nordsøen Forskerpark in Hirtshals. The team therefore had to rely entirely on the computer simulations.
Vónin made an agreement with Christian í Grótinum to test the new trawl, which was to be finished on the 10th of September.
“We have fished with trawls that have been scaled up several times. But this time it was a new and even larger trawl, and I was interested in that. The agreement was that we could test the trawl and buy it if it worked well. If it didn’t, they would take it back and make the necessary adjustments,” says Bogi Rasmussen, skipper of Christian í Grótinum.
The brand-new Gannet3000 trawl was taken on board on the 22nd of September. On the first trip, Jógvan S. Jacobsen from Vónin was also on board.
Christian í Grótinum is a large and well-equipped vessel, and there was no difficulty getting the new trawl onto the net drum, even though it is larger than the previous trawls. The vessel has 10,000 horsepower – enough to tow any trawl.
Christian í Grótinum heads east in search of blue whiting along “Kantinum”, the stretch of sea at the outer edge of the Faroese fishing zone. For the first tow, the skipper decides to use a kite on the headrope. Once the trawl has settled in the water, it opens to roughly 200 metres in height and 300 metres in width. Conditions are ideal: light wind and calm sea.
“On the first trip, we compared how the trawl behaved in the water with what the simulations had predicted and made a few small adjustments along the way. Currents can sometimes prevent the trawl from standing completely straight, so we fine-tuned for that as well. That’s entirely normal in a fishery like this,” Bogi Rasmussen notes.
Several more trials were carried out, switching between the new Gannet3000 and the older Gannet2600, and testing both with and without a kite on the headrope. Fuel consumption was also recorded precisely for every hour of towing. The skipper is satisfied.
“Overall, the new trawl performed extremely well right from the start. I think the team at Vónin pretty much hit the bull’s-eye on the first attempt,” says Bogi Rasmussen.
Jógvan S. Jacobsen is also pleased with what he sees on board during the first trip with the Gannet3000.
“We approached the first trawl of this kind with somewhat of a trembling heart. How would it be to handle on deck, how would it perform in the water, what about the trawl doors, and so on? After all, we only had the computer simulations to go by. But it all turned out exceptionally well,” says Jógvan S. Jacobsen.
The first four trips with the Gannet3000 have convinced the experienced skipper of Christian í Grótinum.
“The size of the trawl means we cover a larger area for every towing hour. Fuel consumption is about 10 percent higher, but we probably catch around 50 percent more for each hour the trawl is in the water. So it’s clearly worth it,” says Bogi Rasmussen.
On average, Christian í Grótinum uses around 950 litres of fuel per hour when towing with the Gannet2600. With the Gannet3000, that figure rises to about 1,060 litres.
It is, however, always difficult to compare fishing trips – weather, wind, sea conditions and other vessels all play a role. For that reason, the skipper does not want to put exact figures on the increased catch or draw final conclusions. But after four trips, the indications are clear.
“This will be the trawl we use for Blue Whiting fishing in Faroese waters. It’s bigger, it fishes better, and it’s a lot easier to handle than the Gannet2600,” says Bogi Rasmussen.
The scaled-up Gannet2600 trawl, which they have used until now, can be somewhat tricky to shoot away, creating extra work for the crew. The new trawl is easier to handle, and it also holds its shape better in the water. On the first trips with the Gannet3000, they also used a sail on the headrope to help lift the trawl into the water, and that worked well.
Blue Whiting is often scattered in Faroese waters, and with a larger trawl it is easier to catch the fish and drive them back into the trawl and the codend. For that reason, the Gannet3000 represents a major step forward. However, this trawl is unlikely to be used in the Blue Whiting fishery west of Ireland, where the fish gather in dense shoals. Large shoals in rough weather from January to March can damage both trawl and codend, which is another reason not to use an oversized trawl there.
At Vónin, the first trials with the Gannet3000 have given good reason for optimism.
“We have very high expectations for this trawl, which can make the Blue Whiting fishery in Faroese waters significantly more efficient,” says Jógvan S. Jacobsen.
In Vónin’s large production hall in Lithuania, where all pelagic trawls and codends are manufactured, preparations are already underway to handle more orders. Once the materials are in stock and production is running at full speed, a Blue Whiting trawl can be completed in two weeks. It is then shipped to Vónin in Fuglafjørður, where it is inspected down to the smallest detail before being delivered to the vessel.
“I expect that the largest pelagic vessels will be the first to adopt it. The primary market for the Gannet3000 will initially be the Faroese and Icelandic pelagic fleets, but the trawl may also become interesting for Norwegian vessels if they end up fishing a larger share of their quota in Faroese waters,” says Jógvan S. Jacobsen.
Recently, the coastal states agreed to follow the ICES recommendation for Blue Whiting, meaning the total quota will decrease by 41 percent next year. This could make fishing in Faroese waters an even more important part of the overall Blue Whiting fishery.
The skipper of Christian í Grótinum has already made his decision.
“We have bought the Gannet3000, and I expect this will be the trawl we use in Faroese waters in the coming years,” says Bogi Rasmussen.
