FAO-SEAFDEC/TD Energy Audits Project for Thai Trawlers (Phase II)

Fluctuation fuel costs and raising environmental impacts from fishery activities, FAO and SEAFDEC/TD are recognizing on recent situation and have set up an energy audits project that target to improve energy efficiency on commercial fishing vessels resulting declining green house gas emission relieved into atmosphere for three years ago. Thai local trawler is a first target to be measured and analysis their fuel consumption pattern for fuel optimization. From energy audit results indicate that large trawler consumes fuel more than small and medium trawl fishing boats nearly two or three times at maximum fuel consumption rate and their fuel consumption rate at sea trial with or without net in water is rely on engine revolution only. In this case, improving fuel consumption rate of these three representative trawlers has only one way that is by keeping good condition of propulsion engine always. At normal condition, diesel engine can run at optimum fuel consumption leading to minimizing impact pollution emitted to environment

First Stage Report of SEAFDEC-FAO Energy Audits

All Thai commercial trawlers depend on diesel oil. To indentify techniques of saving fuel and reducing expense the first project on energy audit was developed under cooperative working among Food and Agriculture Organization for funding supporter and South East Asian Fisheries Development Centre/ Training Department for auditing operator. The audit process exposed to find conditional values concerning fuel consumption of trawl fishing vessels. Fuel consumption profiles of six trawlers were created for estimating their consumption rate at various engine revolutions. A method is to save fuel by reducing ship speed two knots contributing to decrease fuel consumption rate at 50 % of W. Yingcharoen and 52.3 % of Choknimitr. In addition to consideration of fuel consumption rate, earning per fuel consumption is also important parameter. The audit results reported that W. Yingcharoen trawler consumes the highest total fuel consumption but it has the better revenue per fuel consumption, 72.5 THB/litter. The ship fuel consumption results from energy audit project provide for fishers to understand for monitoring trawler at optimum level during fishing operation contributing to decrease fuel cost

Improvement of Energy Audit Data Aquisition for Realtime Efficient Monitoring of Trawl Fishing Vessels

Energy audit was proved as necessary activity to provide for fuel cost saving and decline environmental impact from carbon dioxide released from fishing vessels. Fuel consumption metering system is one important improvement for real-time monitoring on fishing vesseles. Fuel consumption data logger, CKPT-31, support all required parameters to operate fishing vessels at optimum conditions. And also to save fuel by reducing ship speed, this logger can show real-time accurate values of fuel consumption and GPS of fishing vessel that operator can use for making recent proper decision. The other than real-time fuel consumption data logger, water-in-fuel emulsion should be one of solution to decrease fuel cost and air pollution from diesel exhaust gas

The Study on Benthic Litter around the Coastal of Sri Racha, Chon Buri Province

Distribution and accumulation of litter in the marine ecosystem is important issue. Marine litter is an environmental, economic, human health and aesthetic problem. Marine litter has been found in all marine habitats and in all the oceans of the world, not only in densely populated regions, but also in remote areas far from obvious sources and human contact. Marine litter is defined as “any persistent, manufactured or processed solid material discarded, disposed of or abandoned in the marine and coastal environment” (UNEP, 2009). The study on marine littler were conducted in recent years, particularly in European seas. Thailand has few information and study on marine litter. This study is the preliminary research to get the composition and density of marine litter