BANANA PINGER

A low cost and practical acoustic deterrent designed around the needs of fishermen to reduce cetacean bycatch.

THE PROBLEM

Entanglement of cetaceans in fishing gear remains a principle concern for fishers, marine managers, and conservationists globally. Bycatch in commercial fisheries is probably the most important single threat to many populations of small cetaceans worldwide. The technology exists to reduce the risk of bycatch, but whilst acoustic deterrents (pingers) have been shown to effectively reduce bycatch of small cetaceans in fishing gear, particularly gill nets uptake has been low (Larsen et al 2013). Until now, the uptake of these technologies by the fishing industry has been limited due to issues surrounding their cost, durability and ease of use.

THE SOLUTION

Fishtek have listened carefully. For the past 8 years, our team of skilled engineers, scientists, fishers and conservationists have worked collaboratively to overcome these operational issues and we are excited to be able to offer the first low cost, durable, and practical acoustic deterrent that effectively prevents marine mammal bycatch: The Banana Pinger. Banana Pinger has three variations designed to alert whales, dolphin and porpoise. To make sure you select the right pinger for your needs, use our Pinger selection guide .

Effective

Optimised pings! The Banana Pinger acoustic output meets both EU and US regulations so pingers can be spaced at 200m. The ping production has been optimised to prolong battery life. Each ping reaches a source level of 145dB with a randomised structure, including harmonics. During recent sea trials the detection rate of porpoises around nets with Banana Pingers attached was reduced by 82-100%. These long-term studies showed no evidence of habitutation as well as being highly effective at keeping dolphins away.

Easy to use

The easiest to use pinger*! The pinger unit can be swapped with a spare unit with a fresh battery so that the battery can be changed in a dry place – no untying required! The immersed weight in water is 37g (compared to immersed weights of up to 120g for other pingers on the market) so it can be threaded onto the ropes joining net panels on either head or foot rope without interfering with the set of the net. *It’s no accident the pinger is shaped like a banana! We have engineered the casing to ensure that when the pinger comes back on-board it doesn’t get caught on the rails – the banana shaped casing means the pinger rotates smoothly over the rails on hauling preventing snags and subsequent downtime in fishing operations.

Durable

The Banana Pinger is the only pinger with a super-durable rubber carrier. The pinger unit has a depth rating of 1000m and has been tested to below 1400m. Toughness means longer life, greater reliability and reduced costs.

Low cost

The Banana Pinger is the most effective pinger to purchase and the cheapest to operate, with an expected lifespan of >5 years. Running costs are minimal with one standard C-cell battery required each year, costing €1, a total of €4.5 per km of net per year. Other pingers brands are between 2 and 5 times as expensive to buy and run.

The cetacean bycatch problem – urgent action is required.

It is estimated that 600,000 marine mammals are bycaught in fisheries each year and that fishing poses the single greatest threat to the survival of many marine mammal populations globally.