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November 15, 2007

R.I. fishermen, researchers net big prize / Photo

Journal photo/Bob Breidenbach
Researchers in winter 2005 prepare for their second trip to test "The Eliminator," a fishing net designed to catch haddock while avoiding catching other fish. From left are Rufus Ayers and Ray Carr, both fishermen on the Sea Breeze; Phil Ruhle Jr., captain of Sea Breeze, and URI's David Beutel.

Three types of fish -- cod, flounder and haddock -- live together, swim together, eat together and are often caught together in commercial fishing trawlers.

Cod and flounder are heavily restricted by federal fisheries regulations, and fishermen often have to throw thousands of pounds back into the ocean – where they will likely die – because they were caught alongside haddock. And so fishermen often had to stop short of reaching their haddock quota.

But a team of researchers in Rhode Island have designed a net that effectively eliminates that problem. And today they were awarded the grand prize in the World Wildlife’s International Smart Gear Competition -- $30,000 -- for their efforts.

University of Rhode Island Fisheries Center researchers Laura Skrobe and David Beutel worked with fishermen Jon Knight, Phil Ruhle Sr., Phil Ruhle Jr., and Jim O’Grady on a net called “The Eliminator,” which takes advantage of haddock’s tendency to swim up when faced with a net, when other fish swim down.

The group received the reward today in Washington. “We’re excited to be receiving this award," Buetel said in a statement, "and look forward to continuing to research effective ways of reducing bycatch in fishing.”

The International Smart Gear competition was created to encourage engineers and fishermen to develop technologies that would reduce bycatch, according to Ginette Hemley, the senior vice president of the WWF.

“Bycatch is a critical environmental and economic problem,” she said. “These inventions have shown to be effective solutions in our efforts to make fishing ‘smarter’ and we’re pleased to honor their creators today.”

Click below to learn how the net discriminates between cod, haddock and flounder.

-- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson

The design, which beat out more than 70 contenders from 22 countries, is more than seven years in the making.

In 1999, Knight, who has fishing and engineering degrees from URI, began work on a net to help O’Grady and the Rhules catch squid. It was designed with mesh larger than traditional trawler nets and did well with squid. But the fishermen also noticed that there were no cod or flounder showing up as bycatch.

Beutel and Skrobe placed an ad in trade publications and newspapers looking for help designing a selective net. Knight, O’Grady and the Rhules answered.

The group put their heads together and used a lot of math and fishing trips to perfect the design: large, 8-foot mesh on the bottom of the net that cod and flounder can easily slip through, and smaller, 6-inch mesh on top and in the back to catch the haddock.

“The collaborative design and development of the Eliminator trawl is a great example of industry and scientists working together with managers,” Beutel said, “to develop innovative solutions to reduce or eliminate bycatch.”

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 2:59 PM | Permalink

November 15, 2007

R.I. fishermen, researchers net big prize / Photo

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