User Stories

“Essentially we believe in the technology and commercially felt to distribute the product well, such an investment was essential,” says JN Taylor General Manager, Ben Mudd. “WASSP multi beam is such a visual solution and quite different to our traditional sounder and sonar technology. We felt for our own sales and technical staff to gain confidence with the product we needed access to a system. We have now had the WASSP in a quick deployment solution for over 12 months but are still blown away at the quality of data, simplicity of use & multiple display formats available through the WASSP GUI & Navigator interface. Mudd says that from a sales context, after completing numerous office-based demonstrations of WASSP with replay files for potential customers, the customers were still not convinced. “However, after 5 minutes running WASSP on board with them customers could see the value & difference of the WASSP solution compared with other existing multi beam, bottom profiling, bathymetric generating systems.” “At the end of the day, we are very happy with our investment on a commercial level & quietly the WASP has certainly enhanced our own success at weekend fishing missions to the local offshore reefs!”

Camborne School of Mines (CSM) is part of the University of Exeter which is at the forefront of research into wave energy. CSM has a 27 foot catamaran used for a variety of research and have equipped with a WASSP WMB-160 to the vessel. The basic equipment was later supplemented with a WASSP Navigator system that enables the WASSP data to be studied offline back at the office, and also a bespoke piece of software that captures the raw data from the WASSP for export into third party processing software such as GIS. The principle function of the WASSP at CSM is as a surveying tool, locating suitable sites for various testing and assessing their characteristics. The WASSP has been highly effective at compiling images of substantial areas of seabed (typically 1km2) in just a few hours of survey time, the precise time needed varying with depth. “By using the WASSP we have been able to place equipment on the seabed exactly where we want it relative to features on the seabed. The level of detail obtained has been impressive given the price of the equipment, with the geological features of bedrock being quite evident,” says Neill Wood, Programme Director: Surveying, Land and Environmental Management, Camborne School of Mines. The latest version of the WASSP with greater data density and improved data export will be on the shopping list when we next buy our next survey vessel.

Tauranga New Zealand based hydrographic surveyors, Discovery Marine Ltd (DML) have recently begun using a WASSP multibeam sonar in their daily operations. DML and WASSP were instrumental during the grounding of the MV Rena wreck in October 2011. At the time of the grounding of the ship on the Astrolabe Reef at the entrance of Tauranga Harbour, port authorities were concerned at the possibility of shipping containers laying on the seabed in vicinity of the ship, which could have posed problems with the salvage effort. Due to the depths around the ship, traditional side scan sonar was not seen as a viable option, the best solution to find missing containers and to pinpoint their location was to carry out a multibeam survey. WASSP Ltd, were able to deliver one of their sonar systems to DML for use within hours of the groundingDML Director Greg Cox says the multibeam sonar has allowed them to accurately and quickly identify and locate a number of containers sitting on the sea floor. “Containers in the water quickly became a serious issue for the salvage operation, so we needed a multibeam sonar quickly,” says Cox. “We contacted WASSP Ltd on Wednesday 19 October, 2011 and the equipment was collected by us the following day from their office in Auckland. Arriving back in Tauranga the next day the equipment was unpacked and checked and we were able to get it installed on our 10.2m vessel by Friday afternoon. Saturday morning, we were out using it.” “We managed to identify 12 targets, 7 of them deemed to be containers lying on the seabed at depths of up to 80m. We have run over the original contacts and confirmed their existence, location, shape and size.” On the functionality of using the WASSP multibeam system, Cox says he was very surprised as to how quickly he was able to get the system up and running and to be able to retrieve usable data to be used in the salvage effort. “The speed of the process was outstanding, from order, to installation and immediate functionality, it’s quite an amazing piece of technology. It is a credit to WASSP Ltd about how quickly they acted, given the severity of this incident for a country like New Zealand.” “Overall, we’re very happy with how quickly our team were able to operate the system. This is a tribute to not only the skills of our surveyors, but also the fact that the WASSP and Navigator viewing software is relatively straight forward to set up and operate.”

"WASSP - everything you’d expect to get from two or three acoustic products built into one extremely user-friendly unit!" – Billy Sharp, trawlerman, Brixham, UK. Mr Graham Perkes, the owner of Seafield Emiel Trawlers Ltd, Brixham, United Kingdom, and Mr Billy Sharp, skipper of the trawler Sasha Emiel BM181, were looking for two – maybe three – acoustic products for their new vessel to give them a good seafloor profile with hardness changes clearly shown. They were after high-resolution 2D and 3D images of wrecks and rock outfalls, a reliable backscatter facility for gauging bottom hardness, and a good echo-sounder facility that would give them clear and easily identifiable pictures. The equipment also had to be user-friendly. After some investigation, local WASSP agent Globe Marine managed to find all of these features in the WASSP WMB-160F MultiBeam Fishing System. Globe Marine installed the unit on the vessel in early July 2008 and in a very short time the boat’s owner and the skipper were realising its benefits, particularly in improved catches. Even after just a few months, Billy Sharp reported that, because the WMB-160F is so easy to use, he was already using it to its full capability. Word of the benefits WASSP is giving to the Sasha Emiel quickly got around. Globe Marine installed another WASSP WMB-160F in Brixham on the scalloper Danielle BM478. Mr Peter McLeod of Mermaid Trawlers Ltd, who is the vessel’s owner, has been speaking to Billy Sharp, and has very quickly realised the benefits over conventional sonar the WASSP WMB-160F gives to the Sasha Emiel. Peter, a very progressive guy, is looking forward to reaping the benefits of having a WASSP onboard.

Trevor is so sold on the value of WASSP to his business that he’s just installed a fourth WASSP in the latest vessel in his fleet. “WASSP and Navigator confirms all of the knowledge of your grounds that you’ve been fishing over the years. Not only does it confirm what you think is down there, but it gives you unparalleled visibility and enhanced detail... the system is just amazing.” Trevor says that some of his favourite features of the WASSP Multibeam Sonar are the extremely accurate ground definition, hardness/softness discrimination, and the ability to change the depth colours while viewing and to adjust the colours and shading for contours and backscatter. “The ability of Navigator to display all recorded maps at home to study and plan your fishing strategies with more fineness is brilliant. You can distinguish fish by type/size and distribution in the water column. It is giving me the ability to virtually swim down and see with a fishes-eye-view of the seascape below. WASSP/Navigator has the ability to give us an exceptional view of the fishes world, in 3D and 2D, combined with the hardness, softness and textures of the environment. It gives me an unsurpassed feel for the undersea world in which our target species live. Fishing is so much more enjoyable now with the magic of WASSP. It gives me so much advantage over every other fisherman around and I catch my quota very quickly. Managing our fish stocks responsibly is of prime importance to us all, WASSP is definitely another giant leap forward in the way we conduct our business.” Trevor also thinks WASSP is extremely responsive to new ideas. “Because of their openness to customer requests to cater for different fisheries, I’ve seen dramatic new system features added. With regular software updates, plus the introduction of WASSP Navigator, which has opened up new and exciting spheres of operation, that simply blows you away. I can’t over emphasize the 'wow' factor of WASSP. As the saying goes, ‘Before I was Blind, but now I can See’ - it’s simple as that.”

In 2006, Dan McCrae was the first cray fisherman in New Zealand to install a WASSP. When he bought a second boat a few years later, the first thing he did was install a WASSP in that too. “I decided to purchase the WASSP to gain an edge over other local fisherman and to update the technology on board my boat,” says McCrae. Now two years on from having WASSP onboard his second vessel, McCrae says he is still blown away every day he uses it. “The results WASSP gives me are literally something I used to dream about!” "One of the biggest benefits we have experienced has been the huge savings in fuel. Individual pinnacles make up the majority of our ground and you can waste a lot of time and fuel searching for them". "The mapping continues to surprise me. Unless you get in the water yourself you are just second-guessing. Fishing in up to 65-odd metres, I would rather learn from the WASSP!". "For fishing unfamiliar ground and recording large areas of the seafloor the 3D screen works really well and the new Navigator software is brilliant. It means I can analyse data either when I’m steaming, or when I’m back at home that night. This is a must for building a database of your fishing grounds and having the most accurate information easily available at your fingertips". McRae says time is more precious than anything, with gear in extremely tidal conditions the WASSP gives you exact locations of foul grounds, minimising human error and allowing a safer and more consistent catch. "I would not want to be a commercial fisherman without the WASSP!”

Dominique has so much confidence in the detail his WASSP provides that he now lifts and lowers his trawling equipment over rocks and tows it through narrow channels – places he would never have fished before for fear of damaging or losing his gear. The ability to discover and map new fishing grounds more quickly and accurately, thanks to the wide 120-degree swath offered by its multibeam technology, enables him to target areas that provide a higher value catch, in considerably less time – and to trawl where few other fishermen dare fish. The backscatter function is invaluable for seafloor discrimination. Other benefits for Dominique and his crew include significant reductions in fuel consumption through less time on the water. Damage to his trawl doors and nets has been minimised, and even when the fishing is slow, he can still be productive by using WASSP to look for new fishing grounds. Not only has WASSP been invaluable for fishing, but Dominique has also used it to find a yacht sunk off the coast from the port of Brest. Hearing that a local fisherman was using advanced multibeam technology, the authorities asked Dominique to assist, and he quickly located the yacht in 138m of water.

Steve is sports fishing fanatic from New Jersey, USA, and a highly enthusiastic WASSP user. “The WASSP clearly provides important capabilities not found in standard marine echo sounders. The WASSP multibeam system gives me the ability to evaluate detail in the water column and ocean floor more efficiently then with my conventional sonar, the 120°beam width is game changing in my opinion. Overall, the WASSP has elevated our ability "see" both fish and structure below the boat to the next level.  We also love the system's ability to recall the size and position of fish schools. The WASSP is especially useful when we are catching tuna on the troll and then we can use the recent historical data to evaluate the size of the fish schools and return to the most productive areas. Inshore, we use the WASSP to pinpoint significant structure (wrecks and such) then look to see if it holds fish, before we take the time and effort to anchor and begin fishing. Last summer I hit something in our marina and I was able to show the marina manager the exact seafloor map of the marina in 3D! It was clear from the picture that I hit something that was floating near the bottom. What’s more, I get great customer service from WASSP all the way from New Zealand! I wish it was that way with more companies in the US. Nobody believes me when I tell them about Phil coming over from NZ to make sure the WASSP was performing at it's optimum.”