A new policy agreeing to limit the number of Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs) that can be used by any one vessel has been welcomed by the EU tuna fishing industry.
The decision was reached at the last session of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) held in late April, proposed by the EU delegation and supported by other IOTC countries, deciding to impose a maximum limit on the number of FADs in use per vessel.
FADs are floating objects used both commercial and recreational fisheries to improve methods when catching ocean going pelagic species including tuna. Europêche says that the EU tuna fleet supports the initiative to limit FAD use, despite the three main stocks of tuna (yellowfin, bigeye and skipjack) being in a healthy state for the last four years.
FADs are used for the vast majority of the tuna purse seine fleet and support thousands of livelihoods of coastal communities all over the world. 93% of the recent tropical tuna catch came from healthy stocks and a high proportion (more than 65%) of that came from fisheries using FADs.
Javier Garat, President of Europêche, said, "The limitation on the number of FADs permissible per vessel is just the latest step forward in improving the sustainability of the fishing industry. Despite the majority of tuna stocks being at a safe level, the introduction of this limit will act as a further safeguard for stocks, and will hopefully demonstrate the industry’s commitment to sustainability.”
