Motion Reference Units for Fishery Sonar Motion Compensation

picture of a Wind Assisted Ship Propulsion (WASP) ship

The MRU of choice for Fishery Sonars

Fishing vessels depend on high-quality sonar data for everything from seabed mapping and bottom trawl navigation to fish finding and biomass assessment. Yet the motion compensation sensor is often the weakest link in an otherwise expensive sonar package. Norwegian Subsea MRUs deliver the accurate, real-time roll, pitch, and heave compensation that fishing vessel sonar systems depend on, without requiring RTK or GNSS coverage, critical for vessels operating far offshore.

Why Motion Compensation Matters for Fishery Sonars

Fishing vessels operate in some of the most demanding sea conditions, often smaller hulls, rougher seas, and greater vessel motion than larger ships, making accurate motion compensation even more critical. Without it, multibeam sonar returns are distorted by roll, pitch, and heave, leading to unreliable seabed data, gaps in fish biomass detection, and degraded performance from omni-directional fish finding sonars.

Many fishing vessels invest heavily in high-end sonar packages but pair them with motion sensors that cannot keep up in irregular, multi-directional seas, a classic "garbage in, garbage out" problem. Fishing vessels also routinely operate beyond RTK and GNSS correction coverage, exactly where many competing sensors struggle most with heave accuracy. Norwegian Subsea MRUs are specifically validated in real, irregular sea conditions and deliver consistent heave performance without any dependency on external correction signals. A key reason WASSP, one of the world's leading multibeam sonar manufacturers serving the commercial fishing industry, has integrated Norwegian Subsea MRUs as their premium motion compensation option.

Read more on our dedicated Hydrography page

What our customers say

"The Norwegian Subsea MRU was like a needle – smooth and precise."

Sid Hynes, Master Mariner, Owner and Skipper of 'Best Kind'

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"We specifically selected Norwegian Subsea MRUs due to their unmatched combination of accuracy, compact form factor, and ease of integration."

Gabriel Walton, Technical Director, Ultrabeam Hydrographic

"They are rock solid. Many Norwegian Subsea MRUs have been running 24/7 inside Miros products for up to eight years without issue, producing real-time data every second."

Jonas Røstad, Chief Commercial Officer, Miros

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"With proper heave compensation, you get a clearer picture of the seafloor."

Sid Hynes, Master Mariner, Owner and Skipper of 'Best Kind'

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Versatile MRUs for every budget and requirement

Find your perfect MRU solution designed to meet different budgets and requirements without compromising on quality, functionality, flexibility, performance, or cost-effectiveness.

Roll and pitch dynamic accuracy of 0.05° Heave accuracy: 5 cm / 5 %

The 6000 series provides high performance 0.02° roll and pitch accuracy

The 9000 series achieves exceptional precision with 0.01° roll and pitch accuracy

The MRU of choice for Fishery Sonars

The MRU of choice for Fishery Sonars

Why Motion Compensation Matters for Fishery Sonars

What our customers say

Versatile MRUs for every budget and requirement

Contact us

Why Motion Compensation Matters for Fishery Sonars

What our customers say

Versatile MRUs for every budget and requirement

Contact us