WASSP has fishing industry buzzing

Electronic Navigation Ltd (ENL) identified a market gap in the industry and began working with Industrial Research nearly five years ago to help develop their product, WASSP - Wide Angle Sonar Seafloor Profiler.

Its key features include a 120 degree sonar view of the water column, the ability to profile the seafloor and show where schools of fish are, and where changes in the seafloor hardness occur.

Operating within a standard Windows framework, the user-friendly product depicts imagery and information on an onboard monitor as a boat moves over the ocean floor.

ENL’s development manager, Brian Germain says that so far they know of no other product like WASSP and those that are closest to it are aimed more at the hydrographic market and worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

WASSP will be retailing in New Zealand for $30,000 and aimed initially at the domestic fishing market, despite early signs that the technology also shows strong promise for other markets.

Brian Germain says the product offers huge benefit for commercial fishermen who presently don’t have the ability to identify targets with sufficient clarity. Current tools available to fishermen mean they still risk missing a big chunk of their potential haul.

“For example when trawling – you don’t know if you’re at the edge or centre of a school of fish but WASSP can better show where the whole school is in relation to the boat.

“The results have exceeded our expectations. We are able to present information in such a clear and dynamic way and in real time. We’ve identified a niche world-wide.”

Industrial Research engineers produced the prototype hardware design that is the basis of the system. Industrial Research also played a crucial role in providing acoustic expertise for the development of the transducers.

The transducer was a vital link for transmitting a signal below the sea surface and receiving echoes from the fish and the bottom of the sea.

Engineers at Industrial Research have completed the first round of manufacturing 100 transducers and continue to play a role in further advancing the technology.

ENL has invested millions of dollars into the product and Brian Germain says that due to time, cost and the effort involved the company has had to sustain a certain amount of tenacity to keep at it.

ENL’s National Sales Manager Gareth Hodson cites the Seafic Conference last May as the icing on the cake – getting an amazing reaction from the official launch of the product in New Zealand.

“We’ll have no problems selling it – our biggest challenge right now is ensuring we meet demand.”

ENL has already made installations in New Zealand, Japan, Thailand, France and the US without any actual marketing drive. They have simply resulted from word-of-mouth.

“We’re offering a money back guarantee for the first 10 we sell in New Zealand because we’re so confident in the product. We’ve shown it to about 20 dealers already and they’re absolutely buzzing and ecstatic about it.”