FRENCH fishing company Euronor (former Le Garrec and Nord Pescheries) has ordered Scantrol's iSYM PairLink control system for the 44 metre trawlers Bressay Bank and Cap St. Georges.

The order placed at the recent Nor-Fishing exhibition at Trondheim, Norway, by company president Patrice Leduc follows a visit to see the system in operation aboard pair trawlers based in the Faroe Islands.

In addition, the specialist Faroese trawling company Beta, which owns Stelkur and Bakkur, is to install iSYM PairLink on a pair team under construction in Spain at the M. Cies shipyard in Vigo.

Recently, Scantrol has delivered iSYM PairLink to the Faroe islands pair teams of Stj rnan/Polar Hav and Eysterbogvin/Vesterbogvin.

"Throughout Europe, increasing fuel prices are in focus in the fisheries industry and pair trawling provides a more efficient fishery which increases trawlers' margins, " says Helge Hammersland, managing director of Scantrol.

"Initially, we install a radio link between the two vessels through which the iSYM PairLink system controls both vessels' navigation and speed, in addition to the trawl's wire length, tension and pull.

Scantrol is seeing a growing interest in its iSYM PairLink autotrawl system.

Fishing companies are, according to Scantrol, realising that pair trawling can reduce fuel consumption considerably and the iSYM PairLink allows pair trawlers to trawl together as master and slave to optimise fuel consumption and, also, keep a symmetrical trawl to provide catch efficiency.

The iSYM PairLink is being installed on Euronor's pair trawlers while they are in port at Boulogne offloading their catches.

Helge Hammersland says that, previously, the focus on reduction of fuel consumption has been stronger among international fishing companies, but "[now] we see a stronger domestic interest in installing the system and commencing pair trawling.

"Modern Norwegian double trawlers can also save on fuel by starting pair trawling - here there are savings to be made by everyone, as long as they invest in the correct control systems."

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