Catch successfully filmed during test of trawl designed to accelerate the green transition in the fishing sector

Using new data‑driven methods, close value‑chain collaboration and an entirely new innovation hub, the EMFAF ACCELERATOR project aims to develop more sustainable, circular and value‑creating bottom‑trawl fisheries. The project’s first test expedition with Havfisken in January marks a successful milestone.

Test expedition in the Skagerrak under the Accelerator project, January 2026. Photo by Junita Karlsen.

Monday 16 February 2026

Anne Trap-Lind

Junita Karlsen from DTU Aqua’s Section for Fisheries Technology is delighted after she and her colleagues completed the ACCELERATOR project’s first research expedition with DTU Aqua’s vessel Havfisken in the Skagerrak in January. On board, the researchers brought two acoustic cameras, also known as multibeam imaging sonars, for the test trawl – along with a great deal of anticipation:

“We’re over the moon! We were very uncertain whether anything would come out of our completely unique observation platform in such a technologically challenging environment as a trawl during fishing. But the expedition was a great success – we obtained really good observations of fish inside the selection section of the trawl, exactly as we needed,” says Junita Karlsen.

The selection section of the trawl is intended to help unwanted fish escape, thereby reducing bycatch – an important element of the ACCELERATOR project, which Junita Karlsen coordinates. The project, supported by the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF), aims to accelerate a major transformation of Danish trawl fisheries in the coming years – hence the name. The successful January expedition marks a milestone along that path.

Bottom‑trawl fisheries in a sustainable future

Today, more than half of all Danish commercial catches come from bottom‑trawl fisheries. It is a method increasingly questioned by NGOs, certification schemes and consumers regarding its impact on the seabed, its high fuel consumption and its potential to generate bycatch.
This is why researchers are focused on developing new and more gentle fishing gears that can support the sector’s transition:

“The future of the fishing industry will depend on its ability to meet sustainability and animal‑welfare requirements while maintaining income and a healthy economy – and this is where Accelerator needs to make a difference,” says Junita Karlsen.

She emphasises that transforming trawl fisheries requires more than new technology. It requires examining every link in the value chain.

From sea to store

The ACCELERATOR project is designed as a full value‑chain project and therefore works to develop improved trawl fisheries across the entire chain from the sea to the store. This means that retailers, ecolabels, industry partners and fishermen sit at the same table with the aim of creating a shared understanding of barriers and opportunities in the blue sector, common goals, and concrete collaborations on new products. This happens through a series of workshops organised by Food & Bio Cluster Denmark, in which the Danish Fishermen’s Association also participates.

The researchers are therefore working to advance trawl fisheries on several fronts:

“Trawls, like other fishing gears, are designed to use fish behaviour to maximise catch efficiency for target species. When the gear design is changed to make it more sustainable – for example by reducing seabed impact – there is a risk of losing catch of the target species. To avoid this economic loss for the fisher, we want to understand what causes target species to escape,” explains Junita Karlsen, elaborating:

The ACCELERATOR project, test expedition of the trawl selection section, Havfisken, January 2026, photo by Junita Karlsen.

“We also want to understand why not all unwanted fish make use of the selection devices we provide for them. In this way, we can improve the different solutions in a targeted manner.”

And the studies required to do so have now finally become possible, as the expedition shows:

“A lack of observations in dark and turbid water, combined with limited resources for video analysis, has been a barrier for researchers for ten years – only now, with acoustic cameras and artificial intelligence for automatic analysis, are we breaking through that barrier. We can now track and quantify the behaviour of individual fish in a larger area of the trawl than, for example, optical cameras used for real‑time monitoring can,” says Junita Karlsen.

Fish welfare

Junita Karlsen explains that the remarkable thing about acoustic cameras is that their resolution is so high that researchers can observe the fish equivalent of human gait, in addition to tail‑beat frequency:

“We will link this to the fishes’ physiological status and thereby describe their welfare and their ability to respond to our selection devices,” says Junita Karlsen.

She notes that part of the work in the Accelerator project is based on the expectation that animal welfare in fisheries will attract far more attention in the near future. Fish welfare is therefore a factor that will help secure continued market access.

WISH – a new innovation hub for future solutions

As an important part of the ACCELERATOR project, a Wild Fish Industry Sustainability Hub (WISH) is being established. It will serve as a focal point for future collaboration, advisory services and innovation projects across the sector.

WISH will function as a platform that continues beyond the project’s end and ensures that new knowledge and technology are translated into commercial opportunities.

Here, researchers, fishers, manufacturers, retailers and ecolabels will be able to meet to develop new products, improve the utilisation of the entire catch, and share experiences in sustainable and circular value creation.

The ACCELERATOR project began in May 2024 and runs until July 2028.

FACTS about the method

An ambition of the ACCELERATOR project is to replace the traditional ‘trial‑and‑error’ approach with a systematic, data‑driven method for developing fishing gear. With advanced sonar technology like the one tested during the January expedition, researchers can for the first time track fish behaviour along the entire trawl.
Reaching this point has required considerable risk‑taking, as placing expensive equipment on a moving trawl is no small feat.
According to Junita Karlsen, it was the development of underwater cameras and diving equipment in the 1960s and 70s that accelerated progress in selective trawl design, because it allowed researchers to observe for the first time how fish behaved in front of and inside the trawl.
Today, selection requirements are stringent, meaning that researchers must understand the full spectrum of individual behavioural patterns. And this, Junita Karlsen explains, is exactly what they can now achieve with acoustic cameras and artificial intelligence for automatic analysis. Researchers can now follow and quantify the behaviour of individual fish in a larger area of the trawl than, for example, optical cameras used for real‑time monitoring can cover.

FACTS about the project

The ACCELERATOR project builds on strong expertise and solid partnerships, drawing on existing research, methods and technologies from both national and international projects as well as industry networks. It is carried out in close collaboration between:

DTU Aqua
Food & Bio Cluster Denmark
Danish Fishers Producer Organisation

The fisheries and fish‑processing industry, retailers, certification schemes and other key stakeholders are continuously involved to ensure that the project’s results are grounded in reality and can achieve the greatest possible impact – both for the environment and for the sector.
Senior Researcher Junita Karlsen from DTU Aqua coordinates the project, and Postdoc Alexa Abangan has been responsible for establishing the analyses involving artificial intelligence.

Funding

The ACCELERATOR project is co‑funded by the European Union through the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF).

Contact

Junita Diana Karlsen Senior Researcher National Institute of Aquatic Resources Phone: +45 35883252 Mobile: 21 24 84 12 juka@aqua.dtu.dk