WESMAR to Introduce New Trawl Systems

WESMAR (Western Marine Electronics) announced today they will introduce two new trawl systems and five new sled options at Pacific Marine Expo in Seattle November 20-22 at Century Link Field Event Center. The TCS785 and TCS 385 trawl systems, with sled options, will be on display in Booth 933 along with WESMAR’s line of hull mounted sonar and commercial bow thrusters. 

Rolling out its largest group of trawl sonar options in its 50-year history, WESMAR is giving trawlers sophisticated electronics with unprecedented information and sleds designed for nets of all sizes. Dennis Soderberg, WESMAR Vice President, says that with the new systems and sled options, trawlers can select the frequency that best fits their fishery and net size.

“For trawlers in sensitive fisheries, where quotas are closely monitored, these trawls are exceptionally valuable. Not only are they unequaled in their ability to find and see fish and monitor them entering the net, but with extended discrimination at the net itself it is easier to mark unwanted fish or fish that could upset their quotas. Each system and each sled has advantages to specific applications,” said Soderberg.

Both new systems have an information-packed new operation screen that displays critical towing information. Each system works with up to six catch sensors that include voltage measurement down the cable and third wire communication. The sleds all have memory capabilities, a feature WESMAR calls ‘Smart Sleds.’ The memory feature saves valuable time and ensures greater accuracy by saving critical settings in memory so they are available every time the system is turned on. 

The Model TCS785, is three sonars in one with forward scan, net profile, and sounder.  Forward scan is for marking doors and tracking fish; profile for net geometry and fish entry; and vertical sounder to follow bottom and footrope. Depth, temperature, a level monitor, tow timer and level sensor are all displayed on the new screen. There are two sled options. The TCS785-180 (Green) sled is a long-range system designed for larger nets with a large vertical and horizontal opening. The TCS785-300 (Orange) sled is the higher frequency sled designed for smaller nets. At 300 kHz, the footrope/bottom relation can be viewed in greater detail. The TCS785 series has a working depth of 1,800 meters.

The Model TCS385, is a lightweight system with a working depth of 1,000 meters.  This series is designed to profile the net opening. There are three sled options with this system, which greatly frequency expand the ability of trawlers to identify species and monitor their nets. The Model TCS385-180 (Green) has the power to paint the large nets and see the footrope and bottom in high resolution. It was designed for the smaller vessels pulling larger nets and the need to see at greater distance. In profile it operates at 180 kHz; in down sounder at 110 kHz. The Model TCS385-300 (Orange) is ideal for watching the larger trawl nets to ensure fish are not escaping. It is popular for cod nets and mid-water trawl nets. In Profile it operates at 300 kHz; in down sounder at 200 kHz. The Model TCS 385-500 (Yellow) is suited for differentiating between species of rock fish and for cod and flatfish. Thanks to the detailed discrimination near the bottom, the 500 allows captains to see more dispersed fish and dispersed or low target strength fish coming into the net. This model operates at 500 kHz in profile and 500 kHz in down sounder mode.

wesmar.com