Development of a new multiple sampling trawl with autonomous opening/closing net control system for sampling juvenile pelagic fish

A new multiple layer sampling trawl with an autonomous net opening/closing control system was developed to sample pelagic juvenile fish quantitatively. The new trawl system, based on the Matsuda–Oozeki–Hu Trawl (MOHT), has a rigid-frame 3.3 m high and 2.35 m wide and five nets of 11.0 m length with a rectangular mouth of 2.22 m×1.81 m (4 m2 mouth area; large-scale prototype). A cambered V-shape depressor is hung below the frame and two bridles are attached at the midpoint of the side frames. A net-release controller is used, which not only controls the net release mechanism but also records the net depth, temperature and flow rate during net towing. The controller sends stored command signals to the net release mechanism as depth settings and/or time settings and does not require any commands from the surface through a conducting cable or by acoustic signals. Two other models were constructed before the construction of the large-scale prototype, which are a small-scale prototype (2 m2 mouth area) for testing the net release mechanism and a 1/4-scale model of the large-scale prototype for flume tank tests. Flume tank tests with the 1/4-scale model showed that the frame leaned forward at a tilt angle from 5 to 15 degrees at towing speeds from 0.8 to 1.4 m s−1. Opened nets closed smoothly and sequentially nets were completely opened when the trigger was released by the command. Net depth rarely changed even during changes in towing speed. Sea trials both by the small-scale and the large-scale prototype demonstrated the same towing characteristics expected from the flume tank tests. The newly developed multiple layer opening/closing MOHT (MOC-MOHT) is considered to be suitable for quantitative layer sampling of juvenile fish.