Aggregation Processes of Pelagic Fishes Around Drifting Floating Objects in the Equatorial Indian Ocean
Gorka Sancho, Grice Marine Laboratory, College of Charleston
18 Sep 2009
Many pelagic fishes aggregate around floating objects in tropical oceans. Fishermen have been taking advantage of this phenomenon for centuries, looking for natural floating objects and deploying their own, which are referred to as Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs). Drifting FADs play a major role in the purse-seine tuna fishery in tropical waters, the technologically most advanced fishery in the world. More than 50% of the world catches of tuna are made around FADs, emphasizing the growing need to manage the exploitation of FADs and a better understanding of the biological and behavioral processes responsible for the formation of fish aggregations. As part of a multinational EU project, fish aggregation behaviors around FADs were studied in situ in the equatorial Indian Ocean, characterizing multispecific fish aggregations and the processes involved. The development of new technologies and methodologies to facilitate the remote study and monitoring of fishes in pelagic ecosystems was a must.