JACKSON TRAWLS of Peterhead made Challenge's mid-water fishing gear to continue the firm's long association with the Tait family.

Her crew have brought on board a new Jackson 60 x 40 fathom herring trawl with a 1000 metre fishing circle.

This net will be of a similar longer wing design which has performed on a number of vessels, including Pathway, Taits, Conquest and Resolute.

Before the mackerel season starts in October, Jackson will deliver two 1640 metre circumference single boat midwater mackerel trawls. Made to a new design, this wide body mid-water trawl gives improved water flow through the trawl and down the length of the tunnel, so that fish move back faster without realising they have been caught.

The wings of the trawl are made entirely from 12 mm and 14 mm diameter Van Beelen twisted nylon, with the 25.6 metre meshes in the trawl wings being all hand-spliced, enabling the gear to maintain its shape better.

Meshes in the top half of the first section of the tunnel in both trawls will be turned through 90 degrees following positive reports from other Fraserburgh pelagic skippers who are now using this new idea developed by Jackson Trawls after extensive flume tank tests.

Rigged in this way, the meshes in this section of a mackerel trawl and brailer, which typically include 120 mm and 50 mm meshes respectively, are kept much more open during towing.

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Gear package from Jackson Trawls