BILLFISH FOUNDATION
Pat Mansellisapassionate
tag-and-release angler and
hasbeeninvolvedwith
TheBillfishFoundationfor
more than 15 years. He has
authored several books about
offshore gamefishing and the
personalitiesofthesport,and
wasanearlyadvocateforthe
benefits of circle hooks. From
hishomeinFlorida,Pathas
fishedthewatersoftheAtlantic
andPacificOceans,andthe
Caribbean Sea for more than
five decades.
The threat of FADs
Whilefloatingfishaggregatingdevices(FADs)maybeanexcellent
tool for aggregating oceanic predators, their widespread use by
modern tuna fleets is decimating not only the world’s tuna stocks,
butmanyotherbycatchspeciesaswell.F
ish aggregating devices (FADs) are anything that floats in the sea and acts as a beacon for
fish. They can be a man-made structure or natural flotsam, such as a branch from a tree,
a bucket, a weed line, or any other object that can be seen by fish as a source of food or
protection. The use of the term today usually refers to a man-made floating structure that
is placed there to attract fish. While most FADs are anchored to the ocean floor, some are also
free-floating with radio beacons, so the owners can locate them when it comes time to harvest.FADs can be made from almost anything, including wood, steel, PVC pipe or rope. Anything to
which algae or barnacles will attach and begin to create an ecosystem will attract small baitfish,
that in turn attract the larger fish, and ultimately migratory predators.Small FADs created by artisanal fishermen have been in use for hundreds of years with little
impact on the overall fish populations, and in fact it would initially appear the more FADs in the
ocean the better. However, most FADs today are not manufactured to create floating artificial
reefs, and nor do they increase the production of
fish. In fact, most FADS are placed by commercial
fishing interests to concentrate tuna and so make
their capture easier for huge ocean-going fleets of
purse seiners.It is believed that the commercial fishing industry
in the Pacific Ocean floats 100,000 new FADs each
year. It is also estimated that about 10 per cent of
these FADs break loose every year, which create
hazards to shipping and frequently sink onto sensitive coral reefs, causing immeasurable
damage. Commercial fishing interests do not contribute to the clean-up.Studies show that about 40% of all tuna and 50% of skipjack tuna caught throughout the
world are caught around FADs. Huge purse-seine nets the size of a city block can pull in 100
tons of fish in a single haul. Alarmingly, the tonnage of by-catch in these nets – the killing
of juvenile tuna, sharks, turtles, wahoo, dolphinfish and other species – frequently equals
or outweighs the tonnage of target fish. The fish that are caught in these giant purse-seine
nets are killed with devastating efficiency. Charles Clover, the author ofThe End of the Line,
described it well when he said: “Killed alongside the skipjack tuna that finds itself in your tin is
almost the entire cast of Finding Nemo.”In many of the South Pacific island nations there is little or no regulation of FADs. At most,
for a commercial fishing concern to establish a FAD, the government asks that notification be
given to the Fisheries or Maritime departments. However, those regulations are rarely followed
and almost never enforced.Fewer FADs are placed in the waters off Australia and New Zealand because government
permitting, regulation and enforcement are more advanced. Details of the construction of
the FAD, along with environmental impact studies, are required. As a result of these stricter
regulations, commercial fishing interests tend to place their FADs in areas that exercise little
or no governmental control.Puerto Rico and Hawaii have set out FADs that are generally for recreational use, and they are
generous with the scientific data they acquire in studying these structures. Other recreational
FADs anchored off Costa Rica have produced phenomenal numbers of blue marlin for anglers.Encouragingly, several initiatives have already been implemented in the South Pacific to
more intelligently use the power of FADs. These studies largely concentrate on such areas as
exclusion zones for industrial fleets. They have also looked at the distance between FADs, the
use of submerged FADs in urban areas where boating traffic is high, near-shore FADs to help
take fishing pressure off coral reefs, as well as ways to better engage with local communities in
order to maintain a harmonious relationship between its citizens and those who rely on fishing
for a living.“Purse-seine nets the size of
acityblockcanpullin100
tons of fish in a single haul.”
34 facebook.com/BlueWatermagazine