Trials aboard Europe vessel were dedicated to the study and adjustment of an off-bottom trawl door rigging using observation tools (attached cameras and towed underwater vehicule) and autonomous measurement sensors. This objective was splited in four points : (1) determine and validate the characteristics and position in the rigging of a weight chain in order to minimise its contact length with the seabed, (2) adjust the doors backstrops lengths and the shooting ration in order to maximize their efficiency and settle the doors 5 to 10 m above the seabed, (3) observe and maximize the doors stability and (4) assess the doors performances in terms of lift and drag forces to compare them with existing and known models. 

An other objective was to collect resuspension data due to the bottom ground gear work and compare them with a modified ground gear (addition of plates to mitigate resuspension). Resuspension of weight chains had also to be measured.