{{ title }}

{{ title }}

{{ description }}
Back

{{ title }}

{{ title }}

{{ child.title }} {{ child.title }}
Contacts
en
en
Seattle trawler Storm Petrel with a pair of Tornado pelagic trawl doors.
Seattle trawler Storm Petrel with a pair of Tornado pelagic trawl doors.

Vónin Tornado trawl doors make Bering Sea debut

Seattle trawler Storm Petrel has finished its first trips using a pair of Tornado pelagic trawl doors from Vónin. Skipper Acácio DoMar has been impressed with how the new doors have handled.

‘The Tornado doors tow well, square well and shoot away well. They’re a great fit to what we do,’ he said, as the A-season for Alaska pollock was coming to an end. This is the 37-metre Storm Petrel’s main fishery.

‘We fish pollock for most of the year. There’s some codfish, but it’s a small season.’

The company did its homework ahead of investing in new doors, with Acácio DoMar’s fellow captain and fleet manager Dan Martin travelling to Scotland and other places to check out the latest technology.

‘He sent me the info and after watching the videos and multiple calls to Óli á Gravarbø at Vónin with plenty of questions, we made the decision to go for these doors,’ he said.

‘I got the Tornado doors in March. And we tested them with the settings we thought would be best for the fishing, with different angles of attack. They responded as I hoped, from more spread to faster towing, and we haven’t been disappointed.’

Vónin Tornado door
Change of attitude

The 6 square metre Tornados replace an older 8.5 square metre pair of conventional doors. And going for smaller doors called for a change of attitude.

‘I’m happy with these doors because the idea that bigger is better isn’t always true – and this is one of those cases,’ Acácio explained.

‘I’d like to point out that Óli at Vónin made me believe in them – because the ‘bigger is better’ mindset made me nervous about this. But I’m very pleased we have these doors. This is all happening thanks to Óli. He helped me accept that it wasn’t a mistake going for smaller doors.’

During the A-season, Storm Petrel towed the doors from 30 down to 70 fathoms, both midwater and close to the bottom. 

‘We adjusted some settings to try them out, but didn’t need to. They tow well, and I noticed that I was able to keep up with other boats that I had a tough time to match speedwise before we got the Tornados,’ he said, adding that it’s not easy to tell how much of a fuel saving there is with the Tornado doors.

Same spread with a full codend

‘But I feel that we fill the bag faster as the net stays open all the time. There are two things that impressed me – first that typically the net transducer is 3-5 fathoms lower than the doors, but in this setup they’re always at the same depth, which to me means more efficiency. Secondly, the net spread stays the same all the time, with an empty codend or with 150 tonnes in there. That’s impressive.’

Now that the A-season is over, there’s a break in the pollock fishery until the second season of the year opens.

‘We used these doors for a month and we’ll be back in June for the B-season,’ Acácio DoMar said. ‘And people are noticing these doors in the Bering Sea.’

Latest news

Storm doors and Zenith trawl make a perfect match
Vónin’s Storm trawl doors and Zenith groundfish trawl exemplifies innovation in fishing technology, offering efficiency and durability. This case study highlights the experience of Whitehills skipper, David Lovie, with these cutting-edge solutions.
Vónin consolidates presence in Scotland with Mørenot Scotland Takeover
Vónin is pleased to announce the takeover of Mørenot Scotland, which has been renamed Vónin UK Ltd and will trade as Vónin Scotland. This strategic step is a significant boost to our strong presence in the Scottish market.
Twister performance
With the sudden prospect of a heavy capelin season that nobody expected this spring, Icelandic fishing company Samherji added to its fleet with the former Christina S from Fraserburgh to help bridge the gap.
Scott Slawinski joins Vónin’s team
Last year Vónin in Scotland increased activity significantly. In 2022 , we delivered more cage nets and moorings along with various other equipment to the Scottish aquaculture industry than in previous years.
Infigo 576 bottom trawl shows what it can do
The new Infigo 576-mesh bottom trawl looked a little strange at first, but the new design has proved to be a real success for them.
Large investments in waterbased anti-fouling and coating
Vónin has the last couple of years made large investments in upgrading their aquaculture department at Norðskála with a new production hall, warehouse facility, new offices and a new and larger net washing system.

Get on our list

Are you interested in receiving the latest news from Vónin directly in your inbox ? Fill in the form to subscribe.

Sales team

Send e-mail to:
{{selectedEmployee.title}}

  • {{error}}

Your message has been sent.

{{ employee.title }}
{{ getLocations(employee) }}
{{ employee.job_title }}
Phone: {{ employee.phone }}
Send e-mail

Vónin on Instagram