Abstract: A paravane handling system which includes a wing-shaped paravane (40) connected by four lines to a hitching device (28) which in turn is connected by a main line (26) to a winch onboard a vessel (10). The main line (26) is arranged to have air gun cable arrays attached thereto for surveying the ocean floor. Vessel (10) also includes a drum retrieval winch (18) for controlling a retrieval line (20) which is connected to a latching mechanism (24) arranged to run along the main line (26) and engage with the hitching device (28) of the paravane (40). A unidirectional stop (42) is released when the latching mechanism (24) is pulled back toward the vessel (10) and allows the lower two paravane lines (34) and (36) to slacken so that the paravane (40) assumes a horizontal position and planes along the surface of the water as it is pulled back to vessel (10) by the retrieval line (20).