CRISP - Centre for Research-based Innovation in Sustainable Fish Capture and Processing Technology

Introduction The main objective of CRISP is to increase value creation in marine sector and to improve management of marine recourses by development of more responsible and selective fishing methods. CRISP focuses on two segments of the fishing fleet: Trawling and purse seining. CRISP responds to several national and global challenges for responsible fishing by - developing instruments for identifying fish and monitoring gear - developing environmentally friendly and selective fishing gears - developing gentle capture and handling methods - evaluating economic and social effects of the developed innovations When the center now has come to an end, the initial consortium is still intact, and minor adjustments have been made to the original plans. Activities and results New sonar technologies that may increase the precision in school volume and fish size estimation have been developed by the industry partner Kongsberg Maritime, Simrad. The main contribution of Institute of Marine Research has been to develop and test new sonar data formats and standard calibration procedures for fisheries sonars. The correlation between measured and actual biomass of fish schools have been estimated in controlled fishing experiments. Similarly, a new wideband echo sounder for pre-catch sizing of pelagic fish is developed. CRISP aims to develop new methods for identifying and monitoring a school after it has been encircled by a purse seine and to monitor the gear performance during fishing. Maintaining good fish welfare during the catch process is important to optimize survival if the catch is being released, or to optimize flesh quality if the catch is taken on board. Kongsberg Maritime, Simrad, has developed an integrated information system for underwater video, trawl sonar and echo sounder information sent through a standard coaxial net-sounder cable from the trawl to the bridge. The system includes a communication unit (HUB) that also organizes communication to and from other units attached to the trawl including echo sounders, light sources and motors. The Deep Vision system developed by Scantrol Deep Vision also use optical technology for fish identification at the fishing depth. High quality images taken inside a trawl are used to identify species and sizes of objects passing through the trawl. This instrument has both exciting potential to improve stock assessment of marine animals including fish and plankton (fisheries research and management), and to be used in sorting systems for the fishing fleet to avoid the catch of non-target fish. In the Barents Sea trawl fisheries for Northeast Atlantic cod in the last years, the catches often exceed the production and handling capacity of the trawlers. A system that release fish above a pre-set catch level has been developed by IMR staff in consultation with fishermen and trawl manufacturers. Development of maneuverable trawl doors that will facilitate semi-pelagic trawling with doors off bottom has been carried out by Egersund Group Ltd and IMR. However, these doors have not yet been fully adopted by the fleet as there is still need for a more stable and robust two-way communication system between the bridge and the trawl doors. Semi-pelagic trawling has also been shown to have lower catch efficiency than conventional bottom trawling. One must therefore tow longer and use more fuel to harvest the same amount of fish. The trawler company Nergård Havfiske Ltd. and Nofima have demonstrated that restitution of trawl catches in tanks before slaughtering may substantially improve the quality and form the basis for industrial production of superior-quality products. Nofima has established a large swimming-tunnel that mimics the capture situation and allows for detailed physiological studies of large numbers of fish. Nofima studies the economic and societal effects of new technologies developed in CRISP. The impacts of structuring with regards to the environmental and economic performance of the Norwegian bottom trawlers and purse seiners have also been analyzed. It is concluded that changes in structure combined with increasing cod quotas have led to a reduction of fuel usage and improved exploitation of capacity for the trawler fleet. A similar analysis of the purse seine fleet showed that increasing the value of the catch, e.g. by improving quality or selection of high-value specimens, has a greater potential for increasing the profitability than a reduction in operating costs.

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Considerable efforts will be required to adapt to a situation of limited growth in landings, stringent fishery management and consumer focus on sustainable resource harvesting . Major challenges in the future will be to harvest in an eco-friendly manner a nd to improve catch quality and value. The Centre will develop networked state-of-the-art technologies that enable the skipper to reduce bycatch, impacts on the seabed, and exhaust gases, and to ensure gentle handling of the catch. It will bring together world-leading Norwegian technology companies and relevant research institutions in a research arena that aims to bring trawl and purse-seine fisheries a major step forward by transforming fishing technology through a paradigm shift. The bycatch problem in trawl fisheries will be tackled by the use of acoustic instruments to identify size and species prior to capture and by developing an active mechanism incorporating real-time technology to release unwanted catch during capture. Bottom contact and drag wi ll be reduced by switching from demersal to pelagic trawling and/or by lifting parts of the trawl and doors off the bottom. The challenge faced by purse seine fisheries is incidental mortality, as slipping the catch is a common practice. Pre-catch identif ication using acoustic instruments offers the prospect of avoiding catches of non-target species or sizes. To enable skippers to make informed decisions on slipping at an early stage of the capture process, technologies for monitoring species, size and de nsity will be developed, based for example on conductivity, electromagnetism, pressure, fiber optics and acoustics. Gear design and seining techniques must be modified to facilitate gentle release of fish to prevent mortality. Differences in capture and h andling methods have significant effects on catch quality. Live fish technologies will be used to enhance quality by lowering haulback speed, reducing catches, and improving pumping on board and onboard handling.