52 October 30, 1998

New Vessel to Research Rebuilt Great Lakes Fisheries

The U.S. Geological Survey, based in Ann Arbor Michigan, will take delivery of a $2,825,000 fisheries research vessel for the Great Lakes sometime in the spring of 1999. Currently building at the Patti Shipyard in Pensacola, Florida the 105X27X12-foot boat is based on Patti's shrimp trawler design. "But we gave them an upgrade in speed with twin Cummins KTA19 M3 main engines rated at 600 hp each," says the builder's representative Ashley Stone, "We added a raised foc'sle for more accommodation and lab space and a bulbous bow for improved sea keeping and speed."

For working a variety of research and fishing gear, the boat will be equipped with a hydraulicly operated A-frame on the stern, Kolstrand trawl winches, an Alaska Marine Crane knuckle boom, and a Crossley gillnet hauler. This latter is designed to be retrieved through a port in the side of the vessel opening directly into the wet lab. To provide precise control when deploying and retrieving gear there will be an electric proportional tunnel type bow thruster supplied by the deWijs of the Netherlands. Electric power for the thruster and other shipboard needs will come from a pair of Cummins 6BT5.9-powered 99 kW gen sets. A remote tether can be plugged in on the aft deck or on the bridge wings to provide controls of the main engines, gear, and bowthruster.

The main engines will turn 60X59-inch propellers through ZF BW191 4.93:1 gears.

While the boat is being built for the U.S. Geological Survey, the Army Corp of engineers have provided their marine expertise by acting as owners representative to the shipyard.

At the U.S. Geological Survey in Ann Arbor Michigan, science coordinator Dr. John E. Gannon is excited about the new boat which will replace the 53-year-old 57-foot "Siscowet" operating out of Ashland, Wisconsin. While the new boat will have state of the art equipment, the uniquely Lake Superior tradition of having the captain operate the vessel from the gillnet recovery door while hauling nets has been retained. Gannon is especially proud of the dramatic turnabout in the fortunes of Lake Superior lake trout and whitefish. Stocks reached a low point in the mid 1950s that resulting from a combination of over-fishing, pollution and especially the incursion of sea lamprey from the Atlantic Ocean. After testing over 3000 chemicals to find one that could safely be used to kill the larval in the creeks, the lamprey population was controlled. Tribal and commercial fisheries were closed or curtailed for three decades. Only in the 1990s have the sea trout and white fish returned in commercial numbers. For example in the state of Michigan the catch of whitefish in 1992 reached 384,000 pounds with a value in excess of $300,000. In some cases whitefish catches have exceeded the amounts at the turn of the century.

With this kind of good news in the fishery, the scientists at the Geological Survey deserve a new Cummins-powered boat.

For more information on Cummins engines contact:

Larry Neff, 334-452-6421
V-P Marine Marketing fax: 473-6657
Cummins Alabama, Inc
Mobile Alabama, U.S.A.

For more information on the vessel's construction contact:

Ashley Stone phone: 850 453-1282
Patti Shipyards fax: 850-453-8835
Pensacola, Florida

For more information on fisheries management in the Great Lakes:

Dr. John E. Gannon phone: 734 214-7237
Science Coordinator fax: 734 894-8780
U.S. Geological Survey E-mail: john_e-gannon@usgs.gov
Great Lakes Science Center web pages: http://www.glsc.nbs.gov/
1451 Green Rd. http://biology.usgs.gov/pr/newsrelease/1998/6-1hotips0.html
Ann Arbor, Michigan

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