Radar used by fishing vessels for fish tracking and navigation has been developed to track flocks of birds
JRC/Alphatron Marine has completed sea trials of radar for fishing vessels to detect flocks of birds at sea, which helps improve the potential profitability of a catch.
An S-band JRC bird radar was tested on 34-m fishing vessel Pedro Jose Berria off Spain.
JMR-5460-8S demonstrated it could detect a flock of just 10 birds at a low altitude near the vessel or a flock of a higher number of birds at a higher altitude from the open sea.
It could discriminate an S-band reflection of these seagulls from other background noise and targets. It even determined and tracked single birds in a flat sea in good conditions.
JRC said this bird scanning radar would be useful for fishing vessels where then is a lack of other navigation targets.
“When the sea is empty of sonar targets fishermen only have birds as the first step in setting the next fishing waypoint,” JRC said. “Such a system is extremely useful for fishing vessels, providing better potential for a more profitable catch.”
After the sea trial, the Pedro Jose Berria owner purchased the JMR-5460-8S from Iberia-based JRC dealer Ipar-Tronic.
This 34-m vessel catches anchovy, mackerel, and bonito from the Gulf of Biscay to as far as Ireland.
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