Workshop of the Innovation Programme for Brown Shrimp Fisheries Schleswig-Holstein goes international!

The flume tank: Unique testing capabilities

For the first time, this year the Workshop of the Innovation Programme for Brown Shrimp Fisheries Schleswig-Holstein (IPK) has been hosted in the Flume Tank North Sea, at the North Sea Science Park in Hirtshals, Denmark. The Flume Tank in Hirtshals is Europe's largest facility of its kind, making it very suitable for demonstration of fishing gear equipment. The facility also includes a netmaking workshop enabling gear modifications and ad-hoc adjustments. The facility also has seating for 60+ Visitors with direct view to the tank. This allows unique under water views of fishing gear behaviour under different hydrodynamic conditions and the collection of accurate real time measurements, including drag and water flow. This makes it highly valuable for demonstrations, training and course activities.

A new workshop concept

Using the capabilities offered by the Flume Tank, the Thünen Institute of Baltic Sea Fisheries has designed and organized a new workshop concept, combining the theoretical presentations with practical demonstrations and tests of fishing gear innovations. This extraordinary workshop of the Innovation Programme for Brown Shrimp Fisheries Schleswig-Holstein (IPK) took place from 7^th to 8^th of January 2026.

Results and experiences

The event was very well attended by a good representation of German fishermen, netmakers, ministry representatives, managers, NGOs and other interest groups. Interestingly, this was the first experience in a flume tank for all participants. Therefore, we spent two exciting days observing scaled brown shrimp beam trawls and other innovative fishing gears under near-realistic underwater conditions. This gave fishermen, researchers and stakeholders new insights into the behaviour of various beam trawl designs and selection devices, engaging in-place open and constructive dialogue on various technical and practical topics relevant for the Innovation Program.

The practical demonstrations were supplemented by presentations on the innovation programme, including overview of current issues in brown shrimp fisheries, summary results from a catalogue of fishermen-led innovations, and also and overview of innovations taken place in other fisheries and nations.

Future prospects

The two intensive days provided practical insights, new ideas, and numerous contacts, which we intend to use to jointly advance the further development of beam trawls and various selection devices and to develop sustainable solutions for the shrimp fishery oft he future.

All participants agreed that we should definitely repeat this format. We are looking forward to the next time, so: see you in Hirtshals in 2027.