Fundamental scientific research will be conducted for the first time into the seasonal behavior of plaice and sole and into optimal stimulation to release them from the bottom. That should form the basis of the development of gear to catch flatfish as efficiently as possible.
The research project is called 'New stimulation techniques for flatfish trawling: StimTech' and is funded nationally by the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality through the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research. Research groups from Wageningen University & Research and TU Delft work together in a broad consortium. Partners are: Nederlandse Vissersbond, VisNed, CIV Den Oever, CIV Texel, Jaczon BV, VCU Maritime, Fisheries Innovation Center Southwest Netherlands and Fisheries Association South West.
“We are going to examine the behavior of plaice and sole from A to Z. For example, we want to test the physical swimming capacity, how fast and manoeuvrable they are, how quickly and deeply they dig themselves in. And that under different temperatures and therefore seasonal influences. If you know those mechanisms, you can also check, among other things, how fast you have to fish to catch the fish. At the same time, we investigate how exactly one responds to which stimuli. Think of water jets, but also, for example, light and sound, and for comparison also the current alarm clock chains. Finally, we want to design a new wake-up mechanism based on that knowledge and test it in the lab for trapping efficiency and soil disturbance'', explains Pieke Molenaar of WMR.
The researchers have been allocated a total of 1.3 million euros. In addition, the partners contribute almost one hundred thousand euros worth of man-hours through co-financing.
In addition to this fundamental research, practical research is also being carried out with the SCH 63, which went to sea with new water spray rigs as an alternative to pulse rigs. In addition to Wageningen Marine Research and Jaczon, HFK Engineering and Van Wijk are also involved in this project. LNV finances this research with European grant money.