Letter from the skipper on Frank Bonefaas sch72
General
Past trip we fished with the 12m2 new model type 22-vk “BLUE STREAM” from Thyborøn,
The doors are fitted with adjustable flaps, 2 on the toppart and 2 on the bottom part, the size can be reduced with approx. 20%.
There were 3 fishing conditions
Night and day, fishing for Horse Mackerel and pelagic fishing on blue whiting.
In all the cases, there was a good spread with the used settings.
We fished for Horse Mackerel with all 4 flaps opened, minimum size of the doors, with maximum spread in the nets
Fishing for Horse Mackerel
In the start of our trip we are fishing west of Ireland, we did 2 tows for Horse Mackerel
The doors were set on minimum size, all 4 flaps opened
We fished with 2 trawls , for the day, (1050 meter).
A larger trawl for the dark, (1440 meter).
(1050) trawl
the spread of the trawl was good, 5 mtr more than with our old 12 m2 type 15 doors.
The resistance was lower, fishing with 14/15 tons tension on the marelec trawl system, empty ship.
The trawling speed similar or a bit higher than our colleagues fishing with the same size trawl.
(1440) trawl
During the night we were fishing with a bigger trawl .
Also with this trawl we got a good spread and trawling speed .
Doors are very stable in water during turning on the wires.
Fishing for Blue Whiting
After these 2 tows for Horse Mackerel, we moved to the Blue Whiting area,
We closed 2 flaps, one up and one down, to increase the size of the doors.
Early in the season, the fish is concentrated.
We have been fishing for blue whiting with small trawl’s (1440 meter).
Spread of the doors was good,
we have never seen this spread in our trawl before ,
the trawl was spread out to 155mtr by 80 mtr, and with a bit less power 155mtr by 100 mtr.
Fishing for Blue Whiting
on the blue whiting fishery , there was more spread in the trawl , comparing to when fishing
with the same trawl last year , using the Thyborøn type 15, 14 mtr2 doors.
The doors are very stabile during shooting, fishing, turning and hauling , they are standing vertically in the water .
Tension on the fishing wires for the Blue Whiting is approx 8tons per wire.
Trawl is fast spreading, with 1000 mtr fishing wire behind the vessel,
The net is fully stretched out, before we finish shooting the 1000mtr wires.
During fishing for blue whiting we are turning on the wire’s ,
With 1000/1050 meter of fishing wire we can turn fast ,
The net profile remains good, with engine power we keep it just on depth,
We make a 180 degrees turn in 1.4/1.6 miles still fishing.
With Shooting and hauling of the fishing wire we keep a 10 tons of tension
On the Marelec trawl system the doors perform very well.
Next trip
the coming trip we will fish on blue whiting again .
Later on the trip at the end of March, the fish shall spread out.
We hope to use our biggest trawl , (2016mtr)
If we are going to fish with this trawl ,we start first tow with the doors in medium size, 2 flaps closed and 2 open, After this tow we we will close all flaps to use the doors in maximum size, 12m2.
Piet Hoek
Skipper on board Frank Bonefaas sch72
