VESSEL REVIEW | Australia Bay – New snapper trawler delivered to Australian Northern Territory fishing company

Australia Bay Seafoods (ABS) has taken delivery of a new demersal trawler that was formally launched at the Francis Bay Mooring Basin in Darwin.

Australia Bay was built for the family-owned Northern Territory company and recently arrived in Darwin ready to begin fishing operations following completion in Vietnam.

ABS, Australia's top supplier of tropical snapper, reportedly invested AU$10 million (US$7.2 million) in the newbuild, which has an LOA of 31.64 metres (103.8 feet), a beam of nine metres (30 feet), a draught of 4.6 metres (15 feet), a crew of seven and a top speed of 10 knots.

The Northern Territory Seafood Council (NTSC) said the vessel's design draws on the company's five decades in the seafood industry. ABS fishes a range of demersal stocks off northern Australia, with two snapper species accounting for 80 per cent of its catches, and the fishing arrangement on the vessel follows the pattern established across the company's existing trawlers.

Advanced bycatch handling and disposal setup

The vessel is set up to tow semi-pelagic trawl gear. ABS uses this configuration to limit contact between the gear and the seabed, which the company says reduces disturbance to bottom habitat and improves the condition of the catch when it comes aboard.

The trawls are fitted with T90 codend extension sections, in which the netting is turned 90 degrees so that the meshes stay open under tow. The purpose is to let small fish pass out of the gear before it is hauled, cutting the retention of undersized snapper and other juveniles.

Bycatch handling is addressed in two stages. ABS has developed its own stainless-steel-wire grid, mounted in the trawl to allow larger animals, including sharks and rays, to escape before reaching the codend.

On deck, guards and rails are incorporated into the vessel’s hopper release system, directing large animals back over the side without the crew having to handle them. The company presents both systems as means of returning non-target species alive.

Outfitted for tropical operation

Below the waterline, the vessel is fitted with Fernstrum Gridcooler keel coolers. Equipment distributor Geraf reported that the units have been performing well in service after delivery.

The keel coolers suit trawling in the warm, often turbid waters of northern Australia, since they eliminate the need for raw-water pumps, strainers and heat exchangers that are prone to fouling and blockage in shallow tropical fishing grounds.

Australia Bay will operate out of Darwin alongside ABS' existing trawlers, targeting demersal snapper stocks in the Northern Territory's managed trawl fisheries.

The NTSC welcomed the vessel's introduction, and council Chief Executive Officer Daniel Capps said that it would generate continuing local spending on maintenance, fuel and provisions, as well as ensure the supply of locally caught fish.