2009 Winners

The underwater baited hook team at Amerro (l to r): Peter Ashworth, Phillip Ashworth and Ian Carlyle.

Grand Prize Winner ($30,000) - The Underwater Baited Hook

Phil Ashworth and Dr. Graham Robertson, Australia

The name "underwater baited hook" says it all. This stern-mounted, hydraulically driven device delivers baited hooks underwater, below vessel propeller turbulence, in a method much different from setting baits on the water’s surface. The design could substantially reduce seabird bycatch. And, because it minimizes the drag caused by devices that remain underwater while setting, it is considered the most fuel-efficient method of delivering baited hooks at required underwater depths. Read more

Runner-Up Winner ($10,000) - The CP2 Batwing Otter Board

Dr. David Sterling, Australia

The 2009 International Smart Gear Competition awarded Dr. David Sterling a runner-up prize of $10,000 for developing the CP2 Batwing otter board, a device that reduces trawling’s impact on the seabed. Read more

An almost-pure brown shrimp catch made with the HOVERCRAN.

Runner-Up Winner ($10,000) - The HOVERCRAN

Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research, Belgium

The 2009 International Smart Gear Competition awarded the other runner-up prize to a team at the Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research (ILVO) in Belgium. The team took the $10,000 prize for their innovation of the HOVERCRAN, a fishing device that improves commercial catch quality and lessens seabed damage in the brown shrimp fishery. Read more

The Selector Device as seen from the front showing Gold fish escape vent.

Special East Africa Prize Winner: The Selector

Winners Awarded $7,500 for Device to Reduce Bycatch in Africa’s Largest Lake

The Selector, a device that reduces the bycatch of goldfish in the Lake Victoria pellegrin fishery, earned a Special East Africa Prize in the International Smart Gear Competition. Read more

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