17-Jul-2024

Emeraude Changes Mesh Size for Increased Quality and Value of Catches

Emeraude recently increased the codend mesh size on its whitefish trawling nets in the Barents Sea to avoid catching smaller fish. The vessel’s captain explains that the main focus onboard is on what he calls “suitable processing fish.” Emeraude, jointly owned by Compagnie des Pêches Saint-Malo and Euronor, boasts one of today's most advanced production lines for processing cod, haddock, and saithe at sea.

The legal minimum mesh size in bags for whitefish trawling in the Barents Sea is 130 mm. Emeraude had previously used a 135 mm mesh size because the mesh tends to shrink when mud settles in it. Björn Valur Gíslason, Emeraude’s Captain, says the vessel has now switched to a larger mesh size.

“I am now completely switching to a codend with 145 mm mesh size to try to avoid the smallest fish and keep the finer and bigger fish instead. We are obliged to use small fish sorting grids when fishing for whitefish in the Barents Sea to separate small fish from the trawl before they go back into the bag, but this does not always prevent some small fish from ending up on board during hauling. I also hope to get rid of some by-catch with larger meshes in the bags, but it remains to be seen how that will turn out,” says Gíslason.

Suitable Size is Vital for Value Creation

A large volume of Emeraude’s catches is cut with a Flexicut machine from Marel and processed as a variety of special products in different packaging. Therefore, the size and body shape of the fish must be suitable for such processing to create the most value from each catch.

“We are looking for suitable processing fish, where size and flesh quality are the most important. Small fish are not useful in our production. In the current landscape of our business, where quotas have decreased, it is more important than ever to focus on catches that are most suitable for our production. Usually, the most suitable processing fish can be found in the first quarter of the year when we are trawling in the Norwegian EEZ. The fish usually get smaller around the Svalbard area later in the year, although this can vary. We try to focus on exhausting our cod quota in the Norwegian EEZ before the end of summer and maximising its value before heading north to the Svalbard zone,” Gíslason says.

Emeraude's Captain, Björn Valur Gíslason.

The Quality of the Catch is a Priority

Gíslason says the quality of the catch is the utmost priority of the crew and the company, Alda Seafood affiliate Compagnie des Pêches Saint-Malo. Therefore, the focus is on catch quality at all times.

“In addition to increasing the mesh size, we now only use triple codend trawl bags. These bags are divided into three parts so that the catch is equal in all of them, which reduces the pressure on the fish during the pull, not least when the trawl is being taken on board. This means, for example, that instead of hoisting on board a 10-tonne in a single codend bag, where all the pressure is on that one bag, we spread these 10 tonnes into three bags with approximately three tonnes each. This results in significantly decreased pressure on the fish. The Kirkella trawler started with these bags a few years ago, and we followed suit,” says Gíslason.

One of the triple codend trawl bags currently in use onboard Emeraude.

The risk of bruising and loosening in the fish's flesh is significantly reduced by minimising the pressure on the fish as much as possible. Gíslason says that several factors determine the quality of the production. Pulling time, quantity in each haul, fish size and quality, fishing gear, bleeding, cooling, processing speed, and processing equipment are among the criteria that need to be in check to ensure the best possible quality and maximise value. But Gíslason says that in the end, the crew matters most. “A well-trained and coordinated crew is the key to quality and success,” Gíslason says.

Emeraude is operated by Compagnie des Pêches Saint-Malo, an Alda Seafood affiliate, which jointly owns the vessel with Euronor, an associated company of Alda Seafood.