Pelagic trawling off the English coast
An interview with Frédéric Lequez, the young skipper of the Artémise, twin trawling with his father on Le Majestic. Two trawlers out of Cherbourg fitted with the latest MaxSea 2D3D since last April.
Frédéric, how have you been using MaxSea so far?
“We trawl the English coast, north of Cherbourg and Barfleur. And since installing MaxSea, we've been using the 3D for our pelagic fishing to make sure we keep our net clear of the sea floor. It gives us an incredibly detailed picture of the relief down there, so we can trawl as close to the bottom as possible.”
So you have MaxSea hooked up to your depth sounder?
“That's right. First of all we work in 2D, and then switch to 3D for our first sweep. And that's when MaxSea remodels the bottom with exact measurements of every contour so that on subsequent sweeps we can be sure we accurately follow the seabed without ever snagging on anything.It even shows up wrecks to within a few metres, so we never get caught by surprise!”
Does this mean you can now fish more difficult waters?
“It certainly does! Now we're using MaxSea, we can trawl where the seabed is very uneven, or rocky, and there's never any danger of the nets getting fouled. We even fish the Origny trench now at a depth of 160 metres – we'd never have ventured there before! But when we used MaxSea in that area, the first sweep brought up 800 kilos of John Dory. And then another time we used it in the vicinity of the Casquets light vessel where the seabed can be really treacherous, and we caught 45 tonnes of sea bream in 3 nights! We've never had a catch like that before!”
You would say that installing MaxSea is worth the investment?
“You bet it is! In fact, I'd say we've already recouped the cost of getting it fitted. Following the seabed as closely as you can when you use MaxSea inevitably means bigger catches! And of course, that translates into bigger income! You win all round!”
You'd recommend MaxSea then?
"Without reserve. I'm only glad we were one of the first to get it. Because I think it's given us an important head start. Before the competition starts to get tougher!