KOCHI: The Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (CIFT) has introduced an innovative model of V-form double-slotted otter boards to reduce diesel consumption in fishing trawlers. The innovation will aid in considerably reducing the burden of ever-increasing fuel prices, and reducing carbon emission of fishing trawlers, director in charge Leela Edwin has said.
Otter boards are gear accessories used for keeping the mouth of the trawl net open horizontally and can revolutionise the stern trawling from a single boat. A study by CIFT in 2018 had revealed that about 165 million litre of diesel is consumed annually by the 3,678 trawlers in Kerala.
A pair of otter boards account for 20 per cent of the trawl drag. Wooden rectangular otter boards and the V-form steel otter boards introduced by CIFT in the 1970s are the trawl doors presently used for trawling in India.