Modern fishing vessel at work

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The brandnew stern trawler ANNIE HILLINA KW 170 departed from IJmuiden for her first fishing trip. Photo: Marcel Coster (c)

KW 170 ANNIE HILLINA #beautiful #fishing #drone #ijmuiden #northsea

Vessel specs:
www.skipsteknisk.no/assets/docs/Annie-Hillina.pdf

[Binbag_the_Saylore]

@ombugge

The brandnew stern trawler ANNIE HILLINA

Not everybody is happy with this new beast, especially French fishermen! Lotsa posts in various places as this monster heads into French coastal/offshore fishing grounds. (example here, in french, translations below).

ttps://vert.eco/biodiversite/112-metres-de-long-et-400-tonnes-de-poissons-pechees-par-jour-un-nouveau-navire-de-lenfer-mis-a-leau-en-mer-du-nord/

"… traditional fishing boat lands 30-40t a year. This new arrival in their fishing grounds takes 400t… a day… 60,000t a year*"*

I should also note that these same french “small fishermen” have been suffering from the monster trawler issue since their own gov’t started subsidising it! Politicians, eh!

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Follow the construction of a Pelagic Trawler “Sunbeam” from the design:

Illustrasjon; Salt Ship Design 23. Oct. 2023
Through keel laying ceremony at the hull building yard in Vietnam:

Photo via Salt Ship Design. 26. Sept. 2024
Tow from Vietnam, via Cape of Good Hope to the Outfitting yard in Norway:

The hull of “Sunbeam” arrived at Myklebust Verft.
Photo via the shipyard. 05. Nov. 2025

Arriving at Fosnavåg for the naming ceremony:

Photos: Ove Henning Hansen 26.May 2026

Here seen yesterday 25.July 2026:

“Sunbeam” northbound in Karmsundet Saturday evening on a trip to Gursken. Photo: Arild B.

Source w/more pictures and info:
Sunbeam Fishing Ltd., Bygg nr. 79 ved Myklebust Verft, Pelagisk Tråler “Sunbeam”

SUNBEAM FR487

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From the days when the loadline was “top of the wellington booths”:

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The herring fleet in port, waiting for the fishery research vessel to locate schools of herring near the coast:

The message has come on the MF Radio; “Silda he kome” (The herring is here):

Kristansund, winter herring season, 1963.

Source: https://no.pinterest.com/pin/802133383628400477/

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Krill fisheries in the Southern Ocean is a high tech operation, now also with autonomous “spotter boats” to look for krill swarms in dense enough concentration to be worthwhile going for:

Here are the first pilotless fishing boats
Fully loaded with sonar and echo sounder, unmanned drone boats can search for fish:

The first drones for fish finding are being showcased at the fishing fair in Trondheim. Photo: Svein Aam

A drone operates in the Southern Ocean, assisting one of Aker Qrill’s three trawlers. Photo: Aker Qrill Company / Press

Aker Qrill Company, which has an operating office in Ålesund, is leading the way in using drones in the fishery. The manufacturer believes that more will follow.
– This should also be something for traditional Norwegian fisheries, says Sales Manager Jostein Markussen at Maritime Robotics.

The biggest benefit is saved fuel costs. But drones also make fishing itself more efficient. The fishing company has had two drones in operation, and now they have purchased a third, which is larger than the other two.
– Now we have a greater range – up to 50 nautical miles. The drones can search for the krill, and then we move the boats after them.

The drone boats were developed by the company Maritime Robotics in Trondheim.
– We have had a very good collaboration with Aker Qrill. It has been a pleasure to work with them. We have been able to test the boats under tough conditions, and it has been a success, says Sales Manager Jostein Markussen at Maritime Robotics.
A third collaboration partner has been the Kongsberg Group, which produces the search equipment, i.e. sonars and echo sounders.
The krill hunt is just the beginning, he believes.
– The aquaculture industry has also started using drones, which makes difficult operations less risky.
– What about the rest of the fishing fleet?
– We are conducting testing in the North Sea and believe that drones can be used in several different fisheries. The challenge is to develop drones that can tolerate rough seas. And there can be tougher conditions in Norwegian waters than in the Southern Ocean, says Markussen.
The operations manager at Aker Qrill agrees that drones should also be able to be used in traditional fisheries in Norway.
– This should be interesting, not least for seiners looking for herring mackerel. They often search for days and weeks, says Frank Grebstad.

Source: Her er dei første førarlause fiskebåtane - smp.no

PS: It is “back to 1950s”, when a “Basbåt” was used to spot the herring schools:

The two net boats followed behind, side by side with the sein net sheard between them:

When a school of herring were detected by “Basen”, he signalled the nettboats to separate and ring in the herrings:

If a good catch the mothership was brought alongside the net, which was slowly pull back onboard the net boats, until the herrings were so tight that they could be hauled onboard:

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvoNEC1IxKM

Spot the difference.

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Today’s vessels and equipment is different, Here from this year’s mackerel season:

Mackerel fishing is underway – but with low quotas, it could be a record-short season this year.
“Gunnar Langva” has already taken most of the quota._

“Gunnar Langva” on Aspevågen in Ålesund. Photo: Staale Wattø/archive

– We are very satisfied with the season so far. And we have probably had a little luck, says skipper Lars Halvorsen on “Gunnar Langva”.
On Sunday, they made a successful cast in the Norwegian Sea, about 110 nautical miles northwest of Ålesund. The net contained 485 tons of large and fine mackerel, with an average weight of 500 grams.

“Gunnar Langva” was successful with this cast this weekend.
Photo: Private
Mackerel fishing accounts for a large part of the annual income of the purse seine fleet. Last year, there was a price feast, with prices of over 50 kroner per kilo.
Lower prices:
The skipper of the “Gunnar Langva” will not reveal what they received for the latest catch, other than that it is somewhat up on last year’s prices.
“The changes in exchange rates alone account for a price drop of six to seven kroner per kilo. So we can’t expect fantastic prices this year,” he says.

Saturday was the best day in mackerel fishing so far this year, with a total catch of 2,655 tonnes. 40 boats have been in action over the past week, the Norwegian Herring Association writes in its weekly report. 11,244 tonnes of the Norwegian quota for 2026 have been caught, and there are 66,003 tonnes left.
Mackerel fishing is also a pillar of the fishing industry. The low quotas, which have almost halved since last year, create major challenges.
– We could almost take away the Norwegian quota alone, said Inger-Marie Sperre of Brødrene Sperre at the fisheries seminar at Fiskebåt Vest on Friday.

Japanese buyers visit Brødrene Sperre. Photo: Norwegian Seafood Council/archive
– We have spent 40 years developing the market in Japan, and the Japanese love Norwegian mackerel. But this market is shaking to its foundations when prices are so high and volumes are so low. The question is whether others will take over, says Sperre.

Source: – Kan ikkje vente eventyrprisar - smp.no