They wanted to take the bait.
Engineers Hubert Simard and Jean-Nil Poirier Morissette, from the naval architecture firm Navanex, spent ten days in the North Atlantic in January 2023 as crew on a fishing vessel of their design, in order to fully immerse themselves in life on board.
“We had a good understanding of how fishermen fish,” says Hubert Simard, project manager at Navanex, “but we decided to do a field experiment to really understand and feel it. »
They felt.
Ten days of labor and Gravol. Winds of 55 knots. Swells up to 7 meters.
And they learned. A lot.
“It took us a couple of days to get over it, but after that we knew what we were talking about. »
These lessons are being implemented in the new multi-fishing vessel which is being built at the Forillon shipyard in Gaspé.
Temporarily named Optimum, the 27-meter boat will be delivered to Pêcherie Turbide, in the Magdalen Islands, next spring.
“We called it Optimum because it is truly optimal for fishing capacity, reduction in carbon emissions, performance, ergonomics,” says Hubert Simard. We put a lot of energy into improving several elements that we had identified. »
The Optimum is a so-called multi-fishing vessel: it will be able to fish for snow crab in spring, modify its on-board equipment and transform into a trawler in winter.
“These are boats that are made and designed to fish all year round without stopping,” informs the engineer. This is believed to be the type of boat that is needed for the future. Resources are changing, so boats need to be as versatile as possible. »
It was specially designed for redfish, which are back in abundance in the Gulf and whose fishing, under a moratorium since 1994, could be re-authorized shortly.
Navanex presents it as “the first modern boat dedicated to the resumption of this fishing”.
Its holds are equipped with new watering, contactless sorting and freezing systems which will keep dead redfish their beautiful bright red color.
“I am convinced that it will be a new reference for fishing boats in the Gulf,” says the engineer.
The naval architecture firm Navanex was created in 2019 as a division of Chantier naval Forillon, which wanted to offer its expertise externally.
Located in Gaspé, it has five employees – engineers, technologists, naval architect.
The design of the Optimum, the fourth in a series launched in 2016, was undertaken in the fall of 2021.
“When we start at the beginning, when we design the hull, that’s really the fun,” comments Hubert Simard happily. We smooth each little point, a bit like tripeux. »
The Optimum’s hull and bow bulb have been carefully refined with fluid flow analyzes to reduce fuel consumption and, therefore, greenhouse gas emissions.
The bulb – nothing to do with horticulture – is the rounded protuberance which extends the bow, on the surface of the water. It provides great hydrodynamic benefits, but on the Optimum, it can also be ballasted with water to serve as ballast.
“We can adjust the longitudinal stability of the boat. If you have too much weight on the stern, you can use the bow bulb as a counterweight. »
The side stabilizing fins, which lower below the waterline to reduce roll, recess into the hull when raised to reduce drag.
The ergonomics and safety of the fishing deck at the stern of the Optimum have been the subject of numerous improvements based on observations at sea by the two engineers.
“In a single trip, we experienced a lot of situations that fishermen no longer pay attention to,” explains Hubert Simard.
They also noted the importance of the field of vision on the aft deck from the wheelhouse, which was configured to reduce blind spots.
“All the operations of launching and raising the trawl and processing the fish are done at the very back,” he emphasizes.
The aesthetics of the ship – as with Picasso or Braque, you have to train your eye to appreciate it – is not a negligible aspect.
“We want to achieve great things, we don’t just want the boats to be efficient,” argues Hubert Simard. There’s a lot of pride in that. The owners are super proud of their boat. We are proud of our design. The yard prides itself on quality. »
The colors of the boat are not the least disputed details by the client.
“Colors always take a long time,” emphasizes Hubert Simard with a laugh.
“At some point, we have no choice, I have to decide. »
A naval designer must know how to put his foot down.
Deep Sky continues its harvest of technologies and partnerships. The ambitious Montreal company, which is developing equally ambitious projects to eliminate carbon dioxide on a billion-ton scale, has just entered into a partnership with the young Californian company Equatic for the installation in Quebec of a system which captures CO2 in the atmosphere and traps it in the ocean. The electrolytic process fixes it permanently in the form of bicarbonate ions dissolved in seawater and solid mineral carbonates. The process also produces hydrogen. Equatic will deliver an electrolysis unit which will be operated in the Deep Sky pilot installation in Quebec in 2024. The device will be able to eliminate 365 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year (one tonne per day, one might think) . This is to demonstrate the potential of Equatic’s technology before deployment on a larger scale – we are targeting 100,000 tonnes or more per year. Created and developed at the Carbon Management Institute at UCLA, Equatic’s technology was included in the list of the 200 (!) best inventions of 2023 published in October by Time magazine.
The Dimension Multi Vétérinaire Group (DMV) has long teeth. It has just concluded a financial partnership with a group of Quebec investors led by Corporation Financière Champlain, including Fondaction. Founded in Montreal in 1993, the DMV Group specializes in the management of veterinary establishments. Filling its financial bowl will allow it to expand its network of independent Passionimo veterinary clinics in the province, which already has around thirty establishments. The DMV Group also owns the 24/7 CENTREDMVET specialty and emergency veterinary care centers, in partnership with 30 local veterinarians. It will open its fifth center in Quebec in December. With this funding, the DMV Group also intends to strengthen its program to support the professional and entrepreneurial development of veterinarians in Quebec.
Perhaps it was a call from TELUS that told them the good news. AquaVerti Farms won one of five grand prizes worth more than $125,000 awarded during the fourth edition of the program
According to a snap survey conducted in mid-September by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), 85% of SME owners (compared to 52% in 2022) would like to see the federal carbon tax changed or eliminated.