Profile
Kanei bussan Kabushiki Kaisha
Kaneibussan K.K. is based in Nagasaki City and operates two vessels (both named Genpuku Maru) of 760 and 349 gross tons , engaging in far seas purse seine fishing. The company supports Japan's food culture by catching high-quality fish on the deep ocean.
Problem
The occurrence of no catches during fishing operations was driving up costs
Kaneibussan conducts purse seine fishing in the Federated States of Micronesia, Papua New Guinea, and throughout the South Pacific. Its ships depart from Japan and spend about 30 to 40 days at sea, casting nets an average of 30 times, freezing and preserving the fish caught out on the deep ocean, then returning to port. However, several times during these long periods, the company was hauling in their nets only to find they had failed to catch any fish at all.
Continued failure to catch fish delayed achieving targeted catch amounts, increasing the number of days it would remain at sea and in turn increasing the cost of fishing operations. Compared to coastal purse seine fishing, which is operated by a fleet of four or five vessels, Kaneibussan’s far seas purse seining is performed by a single vessel and requires more advanced techniques to catch fish. The challenge Kanei Bussan thus faced was how to enhance its techniques and improve fishing efficiency.
Nitto Seimo’s Proposal
Thorough analysis of in-water net behavior to make it possible to always reproduce ideal conditions
In response to the challenges Kaneibussan was facing, Nitto Seimo proposed a thorough analysis of their fishing operations. Ordinarily, it is not possible to see from a ship how the nets sink and what shape they take underwater. We used GPS and attached depth gauges and measurement devices to their nets to ascertain net behavior and gather data. By comparing this field data with the catch of the specific fishing operation, we were able to determine which catches were higher as a result of specific net behavior in the water.
And since the theoretically optimal solution is not always the best, even after manufacturing the best possible nets for Kaneibussan based on our hypothesis, we have continued to check data and make adjustments to their fishing gear to further improve their results.
Current Status
Increased catches and operational efficiency through four and a half years of continuous improvement
Aligning our timing with net overhauls, we have trialed various improvements every 18 months, for a total of three times to date. According to the Kaneibussan’s fishing master, the number of no catches has decreased over time, and the company has been able to improve its catches and operating efficiency. This trial-and-error process is ongoing even now, and we are continuing our efforts to determine how to implement further improvements by varying float position and number.
Homare Matsuzaki, Kaneibussan’s acting general manager, says, “Nitto Seimo has visited the vessels repeatedly to see how things are working and make improvements. They are a reassuring partner to have on our side.” Matsuzaki told us Kaneibussan plans to expand their operations to a system employing two large-scale vessels in the future, and he’s told us they intend to ask to propose even more ideas and provide an even greater degree of cooperation.
