This study investigates the effects of canopy fabric material and vent diameter on the deployment performance of sea anchors for fishing operations through field experiments. Three canopy configurations were tested: polyamide (PA), polyester (PES), and a PA – PES alternating combination. Vent diameters of 80 cm and 40 cm were applied to each fabric as controlled structural factors. Deployment performance was evaluated from entrance diameter computed using four evenly spaced water level loggers, and maximum towing tension was recorded with a load cell. Key findings were discovered as follows: PES and the PA – PES mix achieved deployment diameter/ratio and maximum tension comparable to the current PA standard, indicating practical substitutability. PES also exhibited superior stability, showing reduced variability even with the smaller vent (a change in standard deviation ΔSD-1.75 cm). The mixed canopy maintained performance similar to PA. As expected, vent diameter systematically affected geometry and load (80 cm: 187 – 198 kgf vs. 40 cm: 249 – 268 kgf), underscoring the need to pair material selection with appropriate vent sizing. In conclusion, PES and mixed fabrics are viable alternatives to PA, and co-optimization of fabric choice and vent diameter can enhance sea-anchor performance, durability, and operational reliability for fishing operations.

The tension of warp from trawler and sea-floor contact can generate tilt and wake turbulence around otter boards. Preliminary measurements of otter board tilt and 3-D flow velocity during bottom trawl operations were taken using a vector instrument to investigate the effects of wake turbulence at the trailing edge of the otter board. Tilt data (i.e., yaw, pitch, and roll) at 1 Hz and flow data (velocities in the towing, lateral, and vertical directions) at 16 Hz were analyzed to determine their periods and amplitudes using global wavelet and peak event analyses. The mean period (±standard deviation) of the tilt from the peak event analysis (5±2 s) was longer or double than that of flow velocity (3±2 s). The two periods also had a significant linear relationship. The turbulence rate of flow was 30-50% at the trailing edge and was closely related to roll deviation. The frequency of phase difference ratios (i.e., peak time differences between tilts and flow periods) was significantly different from random occurrence in two trials, possibly due to side tidal effects. However, in the other trials, flow peaks were random, as shown by the even peak times between tilts and flows. Future studies should focus on reducing tilt variation, wake turbulence, and bottom contact to stabilize otter board motion.

This paper describes on the real-time monitoring of net setting and hauling process for fishing operations of Danish seine vessels in the southern waters of Korea as an application of a PC based ECDIS system. Tracking of fishing process was performed for the large scale Danish seine vessel of G/T 90 and 350 PS class using the fishing gear which the length of net, ground rope, head rope and sweep line including warp in both sides were 86m, 104m, 118m and 3,200m, respectively. Tracking information for net setting and hauling process was continuously recorded for 23 fishing operations performed on November and December, 2003. All measurement data, such as trawl position, heading, towing course and past track which was individually time stamped during data acquisition, was processed in real time on the ECDIS and displayed simultaneously on the ENC chart. The results indicated that after the separation of a marker buoy from Danish seiner, the averaged running speed of vessel and the averaged setting period while shooting the seine on the course of diamond shape to surround the fish school in the 23 fishing operations were 8.3 knots and 13.1 minutes, respectively. And with the maker buoy taken on board, the averaged running speed of vessel and the averaged towing period while closing the seine on the straight route was 1.0 knots and 47.0 minutes, respectively. After the closing stage of hand rope, the hand rope was towed by the averaged speed of 2.2 knots during the 13.0 minutes. The average area for route of diamond shape swept by sweep lines of the seine in 23 fishing grounds was 709,951.6m2. Further investigation is also planed to provide more quantitative tracking information and to achieve more effective surveillance and control of Danish seine vessels in EEZ fishing grounds.