Fishtek Marine is a british company that is specialized in designing innovative devices and promotes responsible fishing by reducing the impacts of fishing on ecosystems. For several years, this company has been developing acoustic deterrents for dolphins, porpoises and whales. These devices called Banana Pingers are used by many fishermen in Europe, in United States and in Asia. They comply with European regulation No. 812/2004.
Deterrent pinger to protect dolphins and Whales
Once fitted, it is designed to be forgotten. It automatically turns itself on and off when entering and exiting the water. It is extremely robust and can withstand high speed (6-7knots) shooting operations passing through the flakers with ease and allowing the fast-paced fishing operation to continue uninterrupted.
On hauling, the design of the banana pinger means it can easily pass through the net hauler safely and be stored with in the net bins attached to the net without causing the net to tangle when shot.
Once attached there is little maintenance required as the device will continue to work until the battery runs out (4,500 hours submersed in water – or approximately 12 months of fishing). When the pinger is removed from the water the fisherman can observe the battery indicator lights flashing. Only once the LED flashes red should the battery be replaced.
Three types of Banana pingers:
The Dolphin anti-depredation Pinger (40 kHz) is a acoustic device designed to scare dolphin from poaching fish and to reduce gear damage and bycatch.
The dolphin pinger is much louder (175dB instead of 145dB) than the conventional banana pinger. We recommend using a louder model in pelagic trawlers to ensure the acoustic deterrent remains audible to the dolphin and thus effective as a deterrent. The elevated background noise associated with the trawl, warps and pelagic doors will mean that low powered acoustic deterrents (such as the 145dB banana pinger) are less likely to be effective. Moreover, dolphin hearing is less acute than harbour porpoise hearing and so a louder pinger should be deployed to achieve the desired deterrent effect.
