Counting hooks and fishes

April 2004 Sensors & Transducers

In the USA, an Alaskan-based company is working on developing an automated shipboard system to replace human fisheries observers - people that travel out to sea aboard commercial fishing vessels.

In the USA and Canada, depending on the size, amongst other factors, many vessels are prohibited from fishing unless an independent observer is on board to certify fishing has been done legally and according to the rules. In Alaska about 2000 fishing boats fall under state and federal observer coverage requirements. The number nationwide is about 6000. Another 1000 vessels are in Canada.

Another function that these observers perform is to calculate the 'catch per unit effort', ie, the ratio of how many baited hooks the vessel deploys into the water vs the number of fish caught.

The Alaskan company is now experimenting, in collaboration with the sales team at Telco Sensors, with a system that calculates the number of hooks being deployed each time.

At the moment they are testing the SMT 6000L TS 5 and SMR 6202 TS 5, which has a 2 m range and 0,5 ms response time.

The idea is not to actually count the hooks but the leaders that are approximately 12 inches long that connect the hooks to the mile long longline. Fish hooks could be deployed into the water two or three times a day with a deployment taking anything between 1 and 3 hours a time and numbering as many as 10 000 hooks.

The system is quite complex and is currently undergoing the second testing. The fishing company is quite confident that Telco has a system that can do the job.

Certainly, it can offer the right level of performance and endurance needed for this extreme environment.

For more information contact Telco-Gail Norton, 031 701 4861.

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