SONUS Vanes

The SONUS Vanes project will develop, test and demonstrate a new type and rigging of trawl doors, or vanes to replace the conventional otter boards. The main aim is to eliminate the contact with the seabed, reduce fuel consumption and thus greatly improve the sustainability of demersal trawl fisheries. The vanes will be controlled by vortex diverters, which will increase or reduce their efficiency as needed. In contrast to conventional trawl doors that are mounted on the front to the vessel and on the back to the trawl, the vanes will be rigged at a point allowing the vanes to place themselves in an optimal angle according to the lift and drag. DTU Aqua is contributing with expertise in flume tank tests of scaled models and leads the full scale test and demonstration of the vanes, which involves sea trials onboard R/V Havfisken.

Funding
The project is co-funded by the European Union through the Danish Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Programme (EMFAF) and by SONUS Fishery ApS

Research area: Fisheries Technology