June 29, 2014 — The following was released by Sealord:
Prototype technology unveiled by Sealord is being developed to provide skippers with a real-time view of the ocean floor and equipment while fishing, resulting in smart trawling and a reduction in the impacts of fishing on the seabed.
With deep sea fishing that occurs in depths of over 200 metres, fishermen have never before been able to observe the fish, and operated in the dark with guess work as to how they behave when they encounter fishing gear.
“It will be like driving at night with headlights and full visuals at depths of up to 1000m for the first time, versus navigating only on instruments,” explained Sealord Resource Manager, Graham Patchell.
“This is the first step in technology to be more accurate with trawls and work towards having a lighter footprint on the marine environment with less coral and sponges caught in nets. Rather than waiting to see what comes up in the trawl, we will see it in real time and be able to take action.”
The equipment is the trawl mounted acoustic and optical system (AOS) further developed to provide real-time data and visuals through an armoured fibre optic cable, deployed from a separate winch but computer linked to the main trawl system.
Sealord has developed this technology over the past five years in partnership with the CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation). The partnership is testing the new high definition camera and equipment in a world first trial which sets sail from Nelson this weekend.