After a couple of months working in the laboratory and carrying out tests on small vessels the great day arrives. I am to join a large industrial trawl vessel to try out the performance of the tori lines and the Tamini Tabla under commercial fishing conditions, and on exactly the kind of vessel this was designed for.
I travelled back down the Argentinean coast to Puerto Madryn in order to join the vessel. This meant a 14 hour bus journey before arriving to meet the ship’s officers and crew, many of whom I already know. I retired to my cabin and set-up shop for a trip that would last over 40 days in some of the world’s most powerful oceans.
For several days we sailed towards the fishing grounds, so I took advantage of this time to arrange the tori line and adjust it to the vessel’s specifics. This is important, as each vessel is slightly different, so mitigation measures must be orientated to suit the conditions. Having set the buoys, ropes, the Tamini Tabla towed device and weights on the aft deck, I found a space that would become my new ‘office’ for the coming weeks.
Happy with the set-up, I tested and tried out the devices before we arrived at the fishing grounds, but I hadn’t prepared sufficiently for two problems which would become fundamental during the trip: the horrendous weather and the cold. Of course! We were in mid-winter in one of the world’s harshest seas!
The bad weather reduced the days that we were able to set foot on the outer decks. The waves repeatedly washed over the entire vessel, taking anything that was not strapped down with them. The cold further restricted the time I could withstand the days that were calm enough to be out on deck. From 45 days at sea, several were lost completely to bad weather. We had it all; snow, hail, rain, gigantic waves and full storm force winds on a frequent basis during the trip.
The tori lines and Tamini Tabla worked extremely well despite the terrible weather. Additionally, the officers were really supportive and interested as I included them in all the planning and details. They had been part of the first design stage of the Tamini Tabla in 2008.
During the trip, we discussed the changes needed for such challenging conditions. They each gave their opinions and thoughts on the progress, the streamer materials and strength of the Tamini Tabla being of particular interest.
We also carry out periodical surveys of seabird abundance and species assemblages that interact with the vessel and fishing gear. We found very similar assemblages as on previous trips, although south of the Falkland Islands / Islas Malvinas we saw a large amount of the white morph southern giant petrels. It’s a real spectacle to see over 50 of these birds flying together.
The activities during the trip included experiments to test the conventional tori lines against tori lines with the Tabla as an additional towed device, and against a control treatment of no mitigation.
The large number of black-browed albatrosses that were caught on the trawl cables was not unexpected, but even when prepared to see such things, they can still cause great concern. This trip, whilst mitigation measures were not being used (our control condition) I witnessed three times the mortality I had on previous trips. To see the death of these animals and at the same time working to mitigate the issue is a truly moving experience.
We must get something done and now!