Almost 80% of the more than 5,600 active vessels in the Norwegian fishing fleet in 2021 were less than 11 metres in length and accounted for around 11% of the total volume of cod landed.
Of the volume landed by this segment, only 5% state that the catch is actively chilled. At the same time, temperature is known to be the most important controllable factor in maintaining good catch quality.
For example, it has been shown that the shelf life of cod is 6 days longer when stored at 1°C than when stored at 5°C. In addition, on-board refrigeration allows the fisherman to spend more time on the fishing grounds by slowing down the rate of deterioration, and it allows the fisherman to deliver the catch to buyers who were previously out of reach.
Develops specially adapted cooling systems for small fishing vessels
That is why SINTEF Ocean AS, together with HAV Kjølesystemer AS and Cadio AS, is developing a climate-friendly refrigeration system for use on small fishing vessels. Such a cooling system must be easy to use, take up as little space as possible, be climate-friendly and energy-efficient.
The prototype uses CO2 as a climate-friendly refrigerant. It uses seawater as a secondary fluid, allowing for efficient storage and live capture fishing. As part of the project, the second prototype was developed and tested to optimise operation in terms of user-friendliness and energy efficiency. The second prototype has a cooling capacity of 8.5 kW, making it suitable for use on small fishing boats. The prototype will be installed on a small fishing vessel to demonstrate its performance and benefits in terms of energy efficiency and product quality.
The project partners would like to thank the Norwegian Regional Research Fund for financial support for the realisation of this research [Norwegian Regional Research Council, project no. 349748].
