All the features necessary to the optimization of crab fishing are available in the professional version of TIMEZERO software
Crabbers can often drop hundreds of pots per day. Crabbers don’t just catch crabs but all crustaceans and molluscs that are found on the seafloor. TZ Professional provides a tool which revolutionizes the crabbers ability to find the best positions and increase the productivity of each outing.
Basic principles of crab fishing
Crabbers generally fish in shallow waters near the intertidal zone where they lower down box shaped devices called pots. These are made of steel and are covered in mesh. Bait is placed inside these pots and then the pots are lowered down to the seafloor and the crustaceans will then crawl into these pots. Once inside the pot, it is impossible to get out.
The pots are lowered down one after the other to form lines, making retrieval easier. Depending on the size of the crab boat, a boat may carry up to 300 pots. Pot fisheries are designed to catch crustaceans such as crabs and shrimp, molluscs such as squid and octopus. Positioning the pots correctly is an art form!
Once the seafloor bathymetry data has been recorded and is viewable with TZ Professional in 3D high resolution, the crabbers will have an extremely precise vision of the seafloor and the best fishing zones.
With 3D charts, positioning the pots becomes more precise.
Manage and position your pots with precision
Tidal currents can be defined as currents that are created by the force and direction of the tide at any given time. Certain areas such as the English Channel have more consequential tidal currents that pose a risk to fishing activities.
On top of high resolution 3D charts, TZ Professional provides tidal current zones. These currents weigh into the fishing equation because the pots can get taken off-track with the currents during their descent to the seafloor.
Saving previous fishing trips with all the vital information found in certain zones through marks labelled Events within TZ Professional is simple. Imagine being able to color code zones from a previous trip to show the quantity of the catch. For example, green would indicate a good haul, amber would indicate an acceptable haul and red would indicate an empty or nearly empty haul.
While bringing the pots back up to the surface, a simple click will suffice to enter a colored mark based on the quantity of the haul! While crab fishing may not be a walk in the park, using TZ Professional certainly is!