Simultaneous behavior of skipjack (Katsuwonus pelamis), bigeye (Thunnus obsesus), and yellowfin (T. albacares) tunas, within large multi-species aggregations associated with drifting fish aggregating devices (FADs) in the equatorial eastern Pacific Ocean

Abstract Experiments were conducted to evaluate a fishing captain's ability to predict species composition, sizes, and quantities of tunas associated with drifting fish-aggregating devices (FADs), before encirclement with a purse-seine net. Operating in the equatorial eastern Pacific Ocean, during 11 May–23 July 2011, Captain Ricardo Diaz detected small quantities of bigeye (Thunnus obesus) and yellowfin (Thunnus albacares) tunas within large FAD-associated aggregations dominated by skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis). The captain's predictions were significantly related to the actual total catch and catch by species, but not to size categories by species. His predictions of species composition were most accurate when estimates of bigeye and yellowfin tuna were combined. If purse-seine captains are able to make accurate predictions of the proportion of bigeye and yellowfin tunas present in mixed-species aggregations associated with FADs, managers may wish to consider incentives to fishers to reduce the fishing mortality on those species.

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210Po Activity and Concentrations of Selected Trace Elements (As, Cd, Cu, Hg, Pb, Zn) in the Muscle Tissue of Tunas Thunnus albacares and Katsuwonus pelamis from the Eastern Pacific Ocean

Biological Trace Element Research ◽

10.1007/s12011-012-9450-5 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 149 (3) ◽

pp. 371-376 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Jorge Ruelas-Inzunza ◽

Martín Federico Soto-Jiménez ◽

Ana Carolina Ruiz-Fernández ◽

Humberto Bojórquez-Leyva ◽

Hascibe Pérez-Bernal ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Trace Elements ◽

Pacific Ocean ◽

Muscle Tissue ◽

Eastern Pacific ◽

Thunnus Albacares ◽

Eastern Pacific Ocean ◽

Katsuwonus Pelamis ◽

210Po Activity

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Rates of at-vessel mortality and post-release survival of pelagic sharks captured with tuna purse seines around drifting fish aggregating devices (FADs) in the equatorial eastern Pacific Ocean

Fisheries Research ◽

10.1016/j.fishres.2015.09.008 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 174 ◽

pp. 109-117 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Corey Eddy ◽

Richard Brill ◽

Diego Bernal

Keyword(s):

Pacific Ocean ◽

Eastern Pacific ◽

Eastern Pacific Ocean ◽

Fish Aggregating Devices

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Biodiversity and Habitat Characteristics of the Bycatch Assemblages in Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs) and School Sets in the Eastern Pacific Ocean

Frontiers in Marine Science ◽

10.3389/fmars.2017.00265 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 4 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Nerea Lezama-Ochoa ◽

Hilario Murua ◽

Martin Hall ◽

Marlon Román ◽

Jon Ruiz ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Pacific Ocean ◽

Habitat Characteristics ◽

Eastern Pacific ◽

Eastern Pacific Ocean ◽

Fish Aggregating Devices

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Recent purse-seine FAD fishing strategies in the eastern Pacific Ocean: what is the appropriate number of FADs at sea?

ICES Journal of Marine Science ◽

10.1093/icesjms/fsy046 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 75 (5) ◽

pp. 1748-1757 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Cleridy E Lennert-Cody ◽

Gala Moreno ◽

Victor Restrepo ◽

Marlon H Román ◽

Mark N Maunder

Keyword(s):

Pacific Ocean ◽

Ecological Impact ◽

Eastern Pacific ◽

Purse Seine ◽

Eastern Pacific Ocean ◽

Management Measures ◽

Fishing Strategies ◽

Quantitative Analyses ◽

Reduced Rate ◽

Fish Aggregating Devices

Abstract Concerns about the ecological impact of recent increases in the use of drifting fish-aggregating devices (FADs) have led to implementation of FAD limits worldwide in purse-seine fisheries targeting tropical tunas. However, quantitative analyses supporting such management measures are needed. Analyses of observer data for purse-seine vessels operating in the eastern Pacific Ocean (EPO) during 2012–2015 were conducted. FAD fishing strategies identified in this analysis were found to vary with distance to the coast. Vessels that operated furthest offshore made a large number of FAD deployments and fished primarily on FADs they deployed themselves. Vessels that operated closest to the coast made the fewest FAD deployments and fished about equally on FADs they deployed themselves and on FADs deployed by other vessels. Independent of the FAD fishing strategy, the estimated relationship between deployments and sets was increasing but nonlinear, with a reduced rate of return beyond about 200 deployments. An analysis of the relationship between deployments and standardized catch per successful set, however, provided some support for the hypothesis that more deployments may allow vessels to optimize fishing efficiency. These results highlight the complexity of EPO FAD fishing strategies and have management implications for limits on FAD usage globally.

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