The Falkland Islands will have a new trawler that should be operational by 2021 to start fishing in the first Falkland calamari season later that year.
The new vessel, which will be owned and operated by Fortuna Joint Venture Company Petrel Fishing Company Ltd, started being constructed in late February 2019 at the Nodosa Shipyard in Vigo, Spain.
The vessel will be registered in the Falkland Islands and has been provisionally named F/V Falcon, Mercopress reported.
In order to protect the environment, lower pollutant emissions as well as greater savings in fuel consumption will be ensured. In addition, in order to mitigate the risk of seabird interactions, newly designed bird scaring devices will be fitted to the vessel, as well as offal tanks so that batch discarding can occur when fishing operations are not happening.
Another measure taken into account during construction is related to crew safety and thanks to the design, the number of people needed on the deck will be reduced. Besides, in most deck operations they will work under cover, making working conditions better, especially in inclement weather.
In order to reduce working hours as now required by current legislation, the crew will be increased to 70 people, which will allow for additional rest. Accommodation arrangements will be also improved with a greater number of two berth cabins.
Furthermore, loading and unloading of trays in the factory will be semi-automated, therefore reducing human intervention.
The importance of facilities for fisheries observers has also been recognized, with a dedicated cabin and a specific area has been designed in the factory for the convenience of the observers to perform their work.