Behind every picture there is a story...this one has quite the journey.
This is a complicated picture once you get past the first glance of a full crab trap. For us it represents a year of innovation and all of the highs and lows that go with it. Ashored had the opportunity to have our rope-on-command (ROC) technology tested / trialed with Marc in the Spring/Summer of 2022 and we were not able to meet his standards. The acoustic signalling was not reliable in depths greater than 20 fathoms which doesn’t help when you fish in 70 fathoms. To innovate effectively you have to listen, be open-minded to feedback (good and bad), be driven and technically competent. Improving our acoustic signalling range, accuracy and reliability was a top priority. So, when Marc was open to once again trialing our gear this Spring, we were eager to prove ourselves and gain his confidence. Deployments and acoustic reliability at 70 fathoms was consistent with no release or retrieval failures – a good sign that innovation was and is moving in the right direction.
Earlier this month with the closure of LFA19 and gear having to come out of the water Marc still had uncaught quota of snow crab. He placed his confidence in us and made the decision to use our technology and go back out on the water and fish and hopefully fill that quota. As the picture shows that did happen but not the way Ashored was hoping for. On the day of checking the traps, with a captive audience, the acoustic signal was sent, and it was received by our unit, but the line and buoy did not get to the surface. It was a heartbreaking situation. The last thing Ashored would ever want is for gear to be lost while it is tethered to our device. I felt terrible for Marc that spent his time, money, and confidence in us only may have been unwarranted.
Well after grappling at the known location, he did get the Ashored gear and his trap and the crab all safely on board. The Ashored unit did deploy. The reason why it did not come to the surface in this case may never be known. It was either an issue with buoyancy or perhaps a snag with the ground line. It was not an acoustic failure. It is part of developing and part of the innovation and learning cycle. Without proactive fishermen such as Marc our company can’t grow and improve, and we will not advance this technology and make it work under real fishing situations.
Ashored is a tight-knit group of close to 20 people that are passionate about what we do. We are not involved with fisheries regulations and fishing closures. We simply want to work with fishermen and offer them a technology that will enable them to keep fishing when whales are present. Follow up to this picture – successful set and retrieval of our gear at 67 fathoms this morning. Innovation and progress continues!
--written by Stephen Jones
