Foto: Fiskeribladet

The new 21-metre fishing vessel Josberg, which is equipped for both longline and gillnet fishing, is installed with Mustad autoline and  Automatic Longline Hauling System (ALH). The owners' arguments for choosing this solution are quality and sustainability. 

 - We don’t want to haul large amounts of resources out of the ocean, only to deliver poor quality that doesn’t make a profit. Our objective is for all our fish to have the same quality when it’s landed as when it was hauled aboard. This solution allows us to do so, says shipowner Berger Annar Fredriksen.

Proud crew onboard their new longliner stopping in Ålesund before headding home. Foto: Fiskeribladet

More mobile with ALH

Berger and his brother Jostein, who own and operate the fishing boat company Vito AS, have engaged in gillnet and longline fishing from Lofoten in northern Norway right up to the Russian border for almost 40 years. Here, they catch a variety of species, including cod, haddock, halibut, saithe, ling, cusk and Atlantic perch. Now they are continuing their focus on gillnet and longline fishing with their new boat, but have switched from handbaiting to automatic longlining and the ALH system.

As Berger explains: ­­­
- Things change, and with the ALH system we’ve become more mobile.

 Optimar Fish lift for the ALH system by Loran/Delitek Marin 

Better for the fish and the crew

Josberg is 21 x 9 metres and fitted out on four levels. The well-instrumented bridge towers high above the sea on this special boat, providing clear views all around. The length and the breadth of the boat has been exploited to the full, which provides important benefits for both the crew and – not least – the fish.

 - The boat enables us to take care of the fish in a better way. Rapid rinsing and cooling in bins with ice water allow us to deliver fish with a higher quality than we were able to achieve with the ‘old’ Josberg, Berger says.

 - In all respects, the boat offers a much higher level of crew comfort. Both the cabins and the new mess area are more spacious, he adds.

Crucial experience

Optimar has previously developed and supplied fish lift for the ALH system aboard the 51-metre autoline vessel M/S Loran, in conjunction with shipowner Ståle Otto Dyb. The same type of lift has now been installed aboard Josberg. The experience gained from Loran was crucial for Berger and Jostein’s choice of solution.

For the system to work optimally, a reliable lift is vital. It means we can bleed out the fish at the same time as we haul in the line. This saves us a whole lot. The same person hauls in and bleeds the fish. Loran is equipped with the same lift from Optimar, and it has worked well there. Their experience with the equipment was decisive for us.

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Ståle Dyp from Loran handed over a special gift to Jostein and Berger at Josberg, when they stopped by Ålesund. He was not ready to send them out fishing without a pump from Xylem. 

Ready for new hauls

A few more small adjustments and tests remain, but Berger reckons on being fully operational in the next couple of months.This is a great boat. Its finish and quality are top notch. People are impressed by the fact that it has so much technology and electronics, and by the design of the factory. We are looking forward to putting it to work.

Berger showing us around his new longliner.

Creat cooperation turns into great solutions

Josberg is a good example of the smart and reliable solutions that Optimar supplies to small and mid-sized vessels.
 - All our customers are equally important to us, and we are grateful to Josberg’s owners for the trust they have placed in us during this project, concludes sales manager Alexander Slinning at Optimar.

We would like to send our heartfelt congratulations to the new vessel’s owners and crew, and look forward to accompanying Josberg out onto the fishing banks.