Pelagic trawls from Vónin made with newly-developed Capto net twine are catching on among skippers looking for smoother operations; meanwhile the new Fortis netting promises to increase performance of benthic trawls.
While Vónin’s Fortis netting is increasing the performance of trawl nets used by a range of trawlers including Greenland shrimpers and various Norwegian bottom trawlers, the company’s new Capto net twine is making the handling of large midwater trawls easier for a growing number of pelagic fishing vessels across the North Atlantic. First used by Faroese pelagic trawler Fagraberg in 2013, the Capto braided net twine is fast becoming commonplace among Faroese as well as foreign fishing vessels.
According to Jógvan S. Jacobsen, head of Pelagic Sales at Vónin, the new net twine helps pelagic trawlers work more efficiently on deck while also making trawl nets spread easier and quicker in the water after being launched. The product was developed as an alternative to the long-serving Euronete Super-12 net twine for the large meshes in the fore net of midwater trawls. With the stiffer material of the polyethylene coating on Capto, trawls made in the new net twine eliminate the old problem of net tangling during operations.
‘Works exceptionally well’
“There is no change in the gear’s performance,” Mr. Jacobsen said, “and in developing this new net twine we weren’t looking for something that would fish more effectively, as the trawls already catch well as they are. Instead, we were looking for ease of handling for the crew and a longer working lifetime.”
“More and more pelagic vessels opt for Capto-made trawls,” Mr. Jacobsen said, adding that client vessels come from a number of countries including the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Norway, and Denmark.
As one of the world’s foremost developers of fishing gear, Vónin every so often introduces new products and improvements. Alongside midwater trawling, bottom trawling also represents a sizable part of the company’s fishing gear business. Here, Fortis netting was recently introduced to make bottom trawling more effective.
Said marketing manager Bogi Nón: “This netting is a solution that resulted from the expressed wish by a skipper who wanted to find both a larger and lighter trawl; this is normally seen as two opposites, yet with Fortis we’ve managed to create a new system that works exceptionally well. It provides the skipper with the option of either choosing a larger and more effective trawl net, or sticking with their original size and instead gaining by having towing made much easier.”
“Skippers are increasingly opting for Fortis and once they’ve tried it they tend to stick with it,” Mr. Nón said.
