Echo Detects Red Shrimp in the Mediterranean

The first system to detect deep water red shrimp.

Norwegian Lobster (Nephrops Norvegicus) and Red Shrimp (Aristeous Antennatus) are some of the most valuable species caught by the Spanish fleet, both in the Atlantic and in the Mediterranean. The carbon footprint is more intense than small pelagics. Therefore, fuel saving technology is very important to the fishing operations.

One of the biggest problems in the fishery is Red Shrimp cannot be detected with shipboard or trawl sounders. The Captain has no idea where they are actually catching….enter Echo!

Notus has developed Echo to respond to the need to detect Shrimp, Red Shrimp and Norwegian Lobster. The Captain knows, in real time, if there is a sufficiently profitable amount of the target species in the area where they are trawling. Or if, on the contrary, its presence is so scarce that it is not worthwhile to continue trawling. This significantly reduces fuel consumption.

Initially developed for the shrimp fishery on the US West Coast, Echo has been introduced with increasing success in Nephrop fisheries. Echo listens for the sound of Red Shrimp hitting a pickup device. This data is transmitted to the vessel in real-time.

Tests of the Echo have been carried out onboard the trawler FV La Geltrú, based in Vilanova (Barcelona), Spain. The vessel targets Red Shrimp in depths of 900m with trawl wires lengths exceeding 2,000m. In order to operate the Echo, an acoustic pickup device was installed on the trawl. This is an acoustic pickup device NOT an excluder or grid.

A camera was placed in front of the pickup to help define the results. Echo data was compared to video recordings to evaluate validity of Red Shrimp detection. The camera and pickup angles were readjusted as required throughout the tests.

An important feature of Echo is the ability to change sensitivity based on species and catch rate. This is similar to setting the gain on a sounder to “dial in” the target species. Determining the optimal sensitivity for Red Shrimp was an important goal of this first installation.

Preliminary results have been highly satisfactory. Operational efficiency is substantially improved in real time by confirming the presence or absence of Red Shrimp during trawling. High catch rates have been achieved when Echo detected higher concentrations of Red Shrimp and the vessel turned around to target these concentrations. Catch rates doubled compared to vessels without Echo.

For more information visit www.notus.ca, notus@notus.ca, +1 709 753 0652.