Sledge operation test with pumping mechanics
15 August 2019
This summer further testing on the fishing gear have been on going. To increase the drag time and efficiency of each fishing trip tests have been done on pumping sea cucumbers from the sledge bags up to the ships. The testing has been successful by pumping the catch using a simple airlift. This allows the vessel to keep the fishing gear for a longer period of time catching for every fishing trip. However the pipes take a lot of space making the operation hard to control on the smaller vessels. Sensor system has been implemented on the sledges on the larger fishing vessels who drag two sledges simultaneously. This has increased catch rate and dropped maintenance costs significantly. The captain can easily see the distance between the two fishing gears on the bottom and also the angle of them. With this upgrade we can see if the sledges get tilted and turned upside down. If the sledges tilt, they get damaged and the catch gets lost.