Manufacturer receives funding to commercialize lost fishing gear locator

A St. John's marine technology manufacturer has received funding from the Department of Industry, Trade and Rural Development to help commercialize its products. 

Notus Electronics designs and manufactures underwater monitoring equipment for the fishing industry. This includes the Gearfinder 7000 that can locate lost fishing gear to a depth of 700 fathoms; the Trawlmaster that can sense when the cod end of a submerged trawl is filled with fish or if the mesh of the trawl is torn; and the Seinemaster that shows the depth and sink rate of seine nets and the temperature at the bottom.

Notus Electronics has received $50,000 from the Department of Industry, Trade and Rural Development's Small Business Seed Capital Equity Program with the company providing matching funding to help commercialize its products, part of a $375,000 initiative.

"This innovative company has developed a line of products that will help fishers in all parts of the province and around the world," said Beaton Tulk, Minister of Industry, Trade and Rural Development. "This is an excellent example of how new technologies applied to our traditional industries are creating new jobs and economic growth in the province."

The company currently employs seven people and the new funding is expected to help create from three to five new jobs in addition to strengthening the company.

Notus Electronics was formed in 1992 by electronics engineer Brad Henderson. The company's monitoring equipment has been tested in Iceland, Europe and the United States and has received favorable reviews. The equipment is competitively priced and operates by generating underwater acoustic signals that are received and returned by transponders attached to fishing gear. The cost of replacing lost fishing gear vastly exceeds the cost of the monitoring equipment. 


Media contacts: 
Clifford Grinling, Communications, (709) 729-7066
Brad Henderson, NOTUS Electronics Ltd., (709) 753-0652

2001 04 27                                   8:45 a.m.