Engineering Trials on Supermesh Trawls GM 3 (4320 Meshes Circumference) Made of Polyamide and GM 6 (5640 Meshes Circumference) with a Front Part Made of Dyneema SK-60

摘要

In order to investigate the effect of new and thinner twines for the big meshes, experiments on pelagic trawls were done in December 1988 and January 1989 on board FRV 'Tridens'. Considering the tremendous raise in circumference of the net mouth on commercial trawlers, the major objective of this experiment was to compare the mechanical performance of two gears (named GM3 and GM6) with different variables of the rigging and to find out whether a 5640 meshes circumference trawl could indeed be towed by the 'Tridens'. As the earlier tests on net GM3 were done in 1984, and fishing trials had confirmed a good catchability, while net GM6, designed on the basis of the net GM3, had not been checked at model scale, the major attention was paid to net GM6 during these trials.