Title: Experimental design of a midwater pair trawl for small pair boats on Lake Malawi

This study looks at a midwater pair trawl as a possible fishing gear for exploiting the pelagic fish in Lake Malawi using the two boat technique. A new design of a midwater pair trawl was developed from a prototype. Linear dimension specifications of the prototype design were scaled down to the new design by calculations made using a ratio of the effective power of the new design 45 hp (total power 90 hp) pair boats to that of the prototype’s 300 hp. Other specifications such as twine thickness were arrived at with due consideration of the fishing area. A full scale net was constructed and this could serve as a basis for further development of the fishing gear after testing. If proven viable, the fishing gear could be used by the small-scale commercial fisheries to exploit the pelagic fish resources in the deep open waters of Lake Malawi.