Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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FISHING WEIR
sACKGxO~ND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a fishing
weir and especially to a floating fishing weir that
is capable of being moved from one location to
another location.
Fishing weirs have been used for a long time
in the catching of fish. For instance, fishing weirs
have been used for over one llundred years in
north-eastern North America e.g. on Grand Manan
Island in the Bay of Fundy, for the netting oE fish,
especially herringO Fishing weirs used in the
netting of herring are usually cardioid in shape and
are permanently located near the shoreD The weir is
formed by driving long wooden stakes into the ocean
floor in the cardioid shape, leaving a gap at the
junction of the lobes of the cardioid, together with
20 a series of stakes running from the gap to the
shore. The latter series oE stakes is known as a
leader or fence. Frequently, about one hundred
stakes are used to construct the weir. The weir is
- located in the ocean in 10-15 metres of water, at low
25 tide, and thus the stakes must be 20-25 metres in
length. Poles are attached to the top of the stakes
so that the tops of the poles extend above water at
high tide, which at locations like Grand Manan Island
is in excess of 7 metres. Netting is attached to the
30 stakes and poles, thereby forming a weir in the
cardioid shape with a fence extending to the shore,
the net extending from the surface of the ocean to
near to the ocean floor. Fishing weirs used in the
ocean tend to have a large diameter e.g. 30-40 metres
from the mouth of the weir to the opposing side of
the weir.
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Although herring are regarded as a pelagic
fish, they are also known to swim in schools close to
ahore during some seasons of the year and at certain
times or under some weather conditions. As the
~chool of herring swims along the shore, it
encounters the fence of the fishing weir and is
diverted along the fence, through the gap and into
the cardioid section of the weir. The shape of the
weir is such that the school of herring is always
diverted away from the gap and thus the school
lQ remains trapped in the weir. The fishermen may then
remove the herring from the weir, usually using a
seining operation.
Fishing weirs have given acceptable results
15 for a long period of time with relatively few changes
in construction, although the nets and ropes now used
in the weir tend to be made of nylon or polypropylene
rather than the more traditional materials. However,
there are disadvantages to the known weirs. For
20 instance, it is necessary to have an adequate supply
of stakes e.g. rock maple or red pine, depending on
the depth of the weir, that are both straight and of
reasonable cost. Such stakes have to be driven into
the ocean floor, which may be rocky and not receptive
25 to stakes or may be muddy or silty and unable to
support the stakes in an upright position. Moreover,
wooden stakes are susceptible to marine pests and
borers and have a life expectancy of only a few
years. Fishing weirs in oceans are susceptible to
30 the effects of ocean storms, tides, ice and the like,
depending on the location of the weir. Furthermore,
the weirs are intended to be permanently located,
both because of the nature of the construction of the
; weirs and because it is necessary to construct the
weirs as strongly as possible so as to withstand the
35 effects of the ocean, especially storms.
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SUMMARY OF THE I~VENTION
A movable fishing weir that is not
constructed using wooden stakes or poles has now been
found.
Accordinglyl the pre;ent invention provides
a fishing weir for use in the ocean, said fishing
weir comprising:
tubular support means forming at least a
major portion of the perimeter of the weir, said
tubular support being adapted to float on the surface
of the ocean and to support the fishing weir;
fish netting attached to said tubular
support means to form the walls oE the weir,
an inlet chute ~ormed in the walls of the
weir, the walls of the chute being attached to the
walls of the weir, said chute e~tending into the weir
and being adapted for the passage of fish into the
weir; and
weights attached to said fish netting.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
In a preferred embodiment of the present
invention, the tubular support means is formed from a
synthetic polymer, especially polyethylene and in
particular polyethylene in the form of pipe.
In a further embodiment, a bull ring is
located within the weir in the plane of the tubular
support means Eorming the perimeter of the weir and a
plurality of guide wires are attached to both the
bull ring and the tubular support means.
In another embodiment, the shape of the weir
as defined by the walls of the weir, includin~ the
walls o~ the inlet chutel is substantially cardioid.
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The present inventi~n will be further
described with re~erence to the embodiments shown in
the drawings, in which:
Figure la is a schematic rep~esentation of a
plan view of a fish weir of the prior art;
Figure lb is a scheTnatic representation of
the fish weir o~ Figure la as viewed in direction
A-A;
Figure 2 is a schematic representation of a
perspective view of an embodiment of the fishing weir
of the present invention;
Figures 3a/ 3b and 3c are schematic
representations of plan views of alternative
embodiments of the present invention;
Figures 4a and 4b are schematic top and
perspective views of additional alternative
embodiments of the invention;
Figure 5 is a schematic perspective view of
a further embodiment of the invention;
Figure 6 is a schematic perspective view of
a still further embodiment of the invention.
Figure 7 is a view of an alternative
embodiment of a fishing weir;
Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view of a
25 coupling for use in the embodiments of Figures 3a, 3b
and 3c and appears in the drawings after Figure 3c;
Figure 9 is a perspective view from above
and to the left of another coupling to be used in the
embodiments of Figures 3a, 3b, and 3c; and
Figures lOa and lOb are perspective and
cross-sectional views respectively of still another
coupling to be used in the embodiments of Figures 3a,
3b and 3c.
Referring to Figure la, the fish weir,
generally indicated by 1, is comprised of a cardioid-
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shaped enclosure 2 and a fence 3 that extends from
the enclosure 2 to the shore; the fence extends past
the low-tide level 4 of the shore to a location at or
near the shoreline 5. Although not shown, fence 3 is
comprised of a series of stakes driven into the ocean
floor between which is strung a fish net; the fish
net extends essentially from the ocean surface to the
ocean floor. Enclosure 2 is also formed from stakes
and netting, and is further described with reference
to Figure lb. Fence 3 extends into the notch 6
formed between the lobes of cardioid-shaped enclosure
2, with an inlet 7 being provided into enclosure 2.
In Figure lb, the enclosure 2 is shown to be
formed by stakes 10 that are driven into the ocean
15 floor 11 to an extent that will provide support for
the entire fish weir even during ocean storms.
- Stakes 10 extend from the ocean floor 11 to above the
level of the ocean at low tide, represented by 12.
Poles 13 are attached to the top of stakes 10 such
20 that the tops of poles 13 extend above the level of
the ocean at high tide, represented by 14. In some
areas of the world where fish weirs are used e.g. the
Bay of Fundy, the tidal variation may exceed 7
metres~ A typical weir has about 100 stakes, which
25 are spaced about 2.5 metres apart~ The weir is tied
together with a ribband, which may be in the form of
poles lashed to the stakes 10 but is more frequently
a rope, especially a polypropylene rope. Lower fish
netting 16 is tied on the inside of stakes 10 and
30 upper fish netting 17 is tied on the outside of poles
13, in order to retain fish, especially herring,
inside the fish weir. In Figure lb, the direction of
the outgoing tide is shown by 18.
In operation, a school of fish swims along
the shoreline and is diverted by fence 3 so that the
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school swims into enclosure 2. Once inside e~closure
2, the school tends to swim around inside t~e
enclosure, as a result of the cardioid shape of the
enclosure, and to remain there until remove~ by
fishermen.
Referring to Figure 2, fish weir 2~ is
comprised of tubular flotation support means in the
form of pipe 21, wall netting 22, floor netting 23,
fence netting 24 and inlet chute 25. Pipe 21 forms
10 the perimeter of fishing weir 20 and is ada?t2d to
float on the surface of the ocean and support fishing
weir 20. Pipe 21 may be in the form of continuous
tubing but is preferably in the form of sections of
pipe thermally butt-fused together and having
15 internal bulkheads, so as to form a continuou~
sectioned pipe. Such a sectioned pipe offers
advantages with respect to support of the fishing
weir in the event of damage to a portion of the pipe.
In a preferred embodiment, pipe 21 i~ formed
20 from a thermoplastic polymer e.g. polyamide or
polyolefin, especially polyethylene. The pre~erred
polyethylene is high density polyethylene. The
polymer should contain pigments and/or stabil.zers,
especially carbon black, to protect the pol~mer from
25 the effects of, in particular, ultra violet
radiation.
Large diameter polyethylene pipe is
commercially available e.g. in diameters of up to
about 160 cm. In embodiments, the polyethy1el~e pipe
30 is pipe conforming to the requirements of D~ 32.5 to
DR 21 of ASTM F-714, pipe meeting the require~ents of
DR 21 having greater wall thicknesses; under the
alternate standards of CSGB-4-GP-25m of the Canadian
Standards Government Board, the pipe may be p~pe that
35 conforms to Series 45 to 100. In a preferr~d
embodiment, Series 80 polyethylene pipe available
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commercially under the trademark SCLAIRPIP~, which
has a diameter of about 50 cm, is used to ~orm pipe
21. Such polyethylene pipe may be thermally
butt-Eused, with bulkheads, by techniques known in
the art.
Pipe 21 may form the entire perimeter of the
fishing weir, as is shown in Figure 2, which is the
preferred embodiment of the invention, but in
alternative embodiments pipe 21 may form only a major
portion of the perimeter. In that event, it may be
necessary to provide other means to prevent fish from
escaping from the weir throuS~h those portions of the
perimeter that do not have pipe 210
Pipe 21 may be formed from sections of pipe
15 having at least one internal bulkhead fused into the
pipe. The sections of pipe are then butt-fused to
form the perimeter of the fishing weir. For example,
sections of pipe having lengths of about 15-20 cm.
may conveniently be so butt-fused.
Wall netting 22 is attached to and suspended
from pipe 21. Floor netting 23 is attached to wall
netting 22, or is part of continuous netting that
forms both the wall netting 22 and floor netting 23.
Wall netting 22 has a plurality of spaced apart ropes
25 26 that are attached at one end to pipe 21 and are,
preferably, threaded through wall netting 22 and
extend beyond the bottom thereof at which location
ropes 26 are attached to weights 27. Weigh-ts 27 tend
to reduce movement of wall netting 22 with the ocean
30 tide. Similarly, a plurality of floor ropes 28
extend across the floor of the weir, preferably
threaded through floor netting 23, to provide
stability to the floor of the weir.
Chute 25 passes through wall netting 22.
Chute 25 is formed by chute walls 29, which are made
of fish netting, and by floor netting 23. In an
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alternative embodiment, chute 25 has chute floor 30
~ormed of net~ing which may be in acldition to or in
place of floor netting 23 at the location of the
chute 25.
Fence 24 extends away from the location of
pipe 21, usually to a shore ~not shown) e.g. to a
position above the low tide level at the shore and in
particular to a position at or near the high tide
level at the shore. Fence 24 is comprised of a
10 plurality of floats 36 that are connected together by
means oE a rope or other suitable means, the number
of such floats being sufficient to support fence 24.
While a variety of floats may be used, the preferred
floats are formed from sections of polyethylene pipe
15 having bulkheads butt-fused thereon so as to ~orm the
float. Fence netting 37 is attached to floats 36 and
extends from the floats, at the surface of the ocean,
to a location near the bottom of the ocean. As shown
in Figure 2, a leaded skirt 38 may be attached to the
20 bottom of fence netting 37, to hold fence netting 37
in a substantially vertical position. Alternatively,
in an embodiment that is not shown, fence 24 may be
constructed with polyethylene pipe, netting and
weights in a manner similar to that described above
25 with respect to the remainder of the fishing weir.
Fence 24 is attached to pipe 21 near chute 25. Fence
24 may be attached to one of chute walls 29.
However, it is preferred that fence 24 be attached to
neither of chute walls 29, but rather that fence 24
30 extend partially into chute 25, so that a school of
fish may pass along either side of the fence and
still enter chute 25 and into the fishing weir.
The fishing weir is moored at a particular
location in the ocean by means that are not shown in
35 Figure 2. A plurality of mooring ropes, suitably
situated around the fishing weir, are used to locate
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the fishing weir in a parti ular location. One end
of each mooring line is att~hed to the tubular
support means, or other suitable location, and the
other end is anchored to tha ocean floor, especially
to anchor means located on :he ocean ~loor. The
mooring ropes are attached to the tubular support
means in a manner that read ly permits disconnection
e.g. to facilitate relocation of the weir in the
event of an approaching sto~m.
In an embodiment, a ring, known as a bull
ring, is centrally located ~ithin the plane formed ~y
the tubular support means, 2nd essentially at the
surface of the ocean. In t~e embodiment shown in
Figure 2, the bull ring is located under scow 31, and
15 is not shown. The bull ring is preferably fabricated
from steel and treated to reduce or prevent
corrosion. Guide wires 32 ~ass from the bull ring to
the flotation support means. The guide wires 32 are
~ intended to maintain the shape of the perimeter of
- 20 the fishing weir. As will ~e appreciated, there is
significant tension in the pipe forming the perimeter
and there is a strong tendency for the pipe 21 to
spring back to a substantially linear shape. Guide
wires 32 resist that tendensy to the extent that in
25 the event of severing of pi~e 21, guide wires 21 will
maintain pipe 21 in its pre-ruptured configuration.
As shown in Figure 2, scow 31 is located in
a central location within t~e fishing weir and is on
the surface of the ocean, although scow 31 may be
30 located at any convenient location within the
perimeter formed by pipe 21; in particular scow 31
may be located above inlet ehute 25, at the centre
and above the bull ring or towards the side of the
weir opposite inlet chute 25. Scow 31 may be held in
place by means of guide wires, but preferably scow 31
is attached to flotation deYices and merely anchored
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by means of guide wires. As shown in the embodiment
o~ Figure 2, each of chute walls 29 extends from, and
is attached to, pipe 21 to scow 31. The ends of
chute walls 29 located under scow 31 are attached to
both scow 31 and to floor netting 23 so as to
maintain such ends in a substantially vertical
position.
Scow 31 may be used by the fishermen as, for
instance, a dock. However, the principal function of
the scow is forming a base for location of winch 34.
~inch 34 has wound thereon winch wire 35 which
extends from winch 34 along fence 24. In particular,
winch wire 35 extends along the upper portion of
fence 34 to the outermost end of fence 24 (not
15 shown); winch wire 35 is attached to at least the
outermost end of fence 24. Winch 34 may be used to
wind up fence 24, especially in the event that the
fishing weir is to be ~,oved to another location or
the danger of storms or the like make it p~udent to
20 wind up the fence 24.
In operation, the fishing weir of Figure 2
may be completely assembled on land, or partially
assembled on land and then the assembly completed in
the ocean. In any event, it is to be understood that
25 the fence would normally be unwound after the fishing
weir had been located at its intended site in the
ocean. The fishing weir is capable of being towed
through the ocean using one or more fishing or other
boats, either for installation or for relocation. It
30 may be desirable to attach the weights 27 after the
fishing weir has been located or to temporarily hang
or otherwise attach weights 27 to pipe 21, or the
like, during transportation and to release weights 27
so that they are in the position shown in Figure 2
after the fishing weir has been located. Wall
netting 22 and floor netting 23 may be lifted, at
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least in part, for transportation of the fishing
weir, to reduce the likelihood that the fishing weir
will snag on rocks or the like while being moved from
one location to another. After the ~ishing weir has
been located and fully assembled, fish and especially
schools of fish swimming through the ocean would
encounter fence 24. The school would be diverted
along fence 24 and into the enclosure of the fishing
weir. Subsequently, the fish may be removed from the
10 fishing weir by fishermen.
In an embodiment, the fishiny weir has a
trapdoor, generally shown as 39 in Figure 2, which
may be opened by the fishermen. Fish may then be
removed from the fishing weir through trapdoor 39
15 e.g. using a seining operation.
Alternative embodiments of the invention are
shown in Figures 3 to 6. As seen in Figures 3a to
3c, the bull ring 30 and guide wires of Figure 2 may
be replaced by reinforcing cross-members 40
20 e-xtending across the flotation means in the plane
thereof to maintain the pipe in the desired
configuration. These reinforcing cross members may
be preferable to use instead of the bull ring and
cables because the cross-members tend to resist both
25 compression and expansion forces. These cross
members are preferably polyethylene pipes. In Figure
3a, a single reinforcing cross-member extends across
the diameter of the tubular support means 43 in the
plane thereof and a pair of cross members 44 extend
30 perpendicular to the single cross-member 42. In
Figure 3b, a cross-member 46 extends across the
diameter of the support means 47 and a cross-member
48 extends perpendicular thereto. A pair of
divergent cross-members 49 extend generally
perpendicular to the cross-member 46.
Figure 3c shows the use of such
cross-members to maintain the pipe 42 in an
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alternative ~igure eight shc?e. In this embodiment,
three aligned cross- member~ extend across the widest
portion o~ the support mean- 51 and two cross-members
52 extend generally perpend~-ular to the three cross
members near the narrowest Fortion of the support
means 51.
In all of the embociments of Figures 3a-c,
the cross-members ~0 may be connected to one another
and to the pipe by a couplir3s such as those shown in
10 Figures 8, 9, lOa and lOb. All of these couplings
are provided with rubber inserts inserted into the
cross-member to compensate far relative movement
between pipe and the cross-~embers. The coupling 80
in Figure 8 comprises a rub~ar insert 82 having a
15 steel core 84. This insert is inserted into an open
end of a cross-member 40 anc is secured by pins 85.
The insert has a protruding ~ortion B6 extending
around the periphery thereo~ near an outer end 87
thereof. Also integral with this outer end 87 is an
20 eye portion 88 having a hole 90 therein. A pin 92
extends through this hole 9C and has the ends 93 of a
cable 94 connected thereto. The cable is wrapped
around the pipe 96 to which the cross-member is to be
connected.
Figure 9 shows a ccupling 100 comprising a
- rubber insert 102 press fittad inside the end of a
cross-member 104. The insert has a recess 105 in the
outermost end 107 thereof and a bolt 106 extends
-30 across the diameter of this recess 105 and through
the walls of the cross-member 104 and the insert
102. A cable 108 may be pacaed around this bolt in
this recess 105 and around tne pipe 110 to which the
cross-member is to be connected to hold them
35 together.
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Figures lOa and 10b illustrates a coupling
~; 112 similar to that of Figure 9; however, in this
embodiment, an insert 114 is fitted into a
cross-member 116 until a rib 118 of the insert 114
abuts the end 120 of the cross-member and the insert
is then bolted into place by bolts 122 extending
around the periphery thereof. The insert 114 is
hollow and has a pair of plates 122, 123 mounted in
the interior thereof at the internal end 124 of the
insert. A bolt 126 passes through the innermost
plate 122 of these two plates and the threaded end
128 thereof passes through the outermost plate and is
held in place by a nut 130. The nut 130 is turned to
draw the innermost plate 122 towards the outermost
15 plate 123 causing the rubber 132 between the two
plates to expand radially against the inner wall 134
of the cross-member. This embodiment provides a good
seal of the cross-member and a strong attachment
between the insert and the cross-member.
An alternative pipe configuration can be
seen in Figures 4a and 4b. In this embodiment, two
closed loops 54 of piping are provided which are
connected together by a boom 56. As may be seen in
Figure 4b, each loop 54 has fish netting depending
25 from it to provide walls 58 and floors 60. Each loop
54 also has a respective chute 62 associated with
it. These chutes 62 face one another and a fence 64
identical to that shown in Figure 2 extends between
them.
It is to be appreciated that substantially
any piping configuration can be used provided that
the walls of the weir define at least one generally
circular path. This is necessary to ensure that the
fish do not escape out o~ the weir through the chute,
35 since fish naturally tend to swim in a circular path.
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To emove fish from the weir, the netting
may be lifte~ to force fish out of the trap door
(shown as 39 in Figure 2) and into a net. Figures 5
and 6 illust-ate pre~erred embodiments of the
invention in luding means to raise the netting. In
the embodime~t of Figure 5, a hollow boom 66 is
attached to :he bottom of the walls 67 of the weir.
Weights 69 m~y be attached to this boom or to the
net. ~uring normal operation, this boom would be
filled with Yater. When it is desired to raise the
netting, air can be injected into the boom to replace
the water through inlet 68. The boom will then float
upwards. In the embodiment of Figure 6, a plurality
of cables 70, only two of which are shown, are
15 attached at ane of their ends to the bottom 71 of the
wall 72 of t~e weir at spaced locations. Columns of
spaced guide loops 73 are attached to the netting and
extend verti~ally from just above the point of
attachment o^ each of the cables to the pipe 74. The
20 cables 70 ar~ threaded through guide loops 73. To
raise the ne-ting, the ends of the free cables are
pulled or wo-lnd onto a winch.
- In ~nother embodiment depicted in Figure 7,
the ropes 26 of the weir may be replaced by elastic
25 cords 100. ~s shown in ghost outline in Figure 7,
these cords :00 stretch during high tide to allow the
flotation me~ns 102 to float on the surface of the
water and st ll allow the weights 104 to remain on
the floor of the body of water. Floor netting 23 may
30 therefore be eliminated.
The fishing weir of the present invention
has a number of advantages. In particular, the
~ishing weir is capable of being moved from one
location to nother, to reduce or prevent damage
during stor~a or the like or to relocate the fishing
weir in a mo e suitable or promising location. The
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fishing weir may be removed from the ocean, for
repairs or for storage for a period of time e.g. over
the winter months. The fishing weir has flexibility
and is capable of withstanding the forces of th~
ocean or storms better than a fishing weir that is
formed from stakes driven into the ocean floor. The
life expectancy of the fishing weir is also
significantly longer than that of a traditional weir
constructed using wooden stakes.
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