Fishing tuna around Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs) vs free swimming schools: Skipper decision and other determining factors

Patrice Guillotreau, Frédéric Salladarré, Patrice Dewals () and Laurent Dagorn
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Patrice Dewals: UMR EME - Ecosystèmes Marins Exploités - IRD - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement - IFREMER - Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer - UM - Université de Montpellier
Laurent Dagorn: UMR EME - Ecosystèmes Marins Exploités - IRD - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement - IFREMER - Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer - UM - Université de Montpellier

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Abstract: Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs) are increasingly used by tuna purse-seine fleets all around the world, modifying the species catch composition. We analyse the determinants of FAD vs free school (FS) fishing, including the skipper effect, and environmental and economic factors. A multivariate and econometric analysis of a panel dataset for the French purse-seine fleet in the Indian Ocean (1980-2007), complemented by a survey of fishers, demonstrates the influential role of climate and prey on FAD fishing and also emphasises individual skipper preference. However, we found that the major determinant of FAD fishing remains the growing fishing capacity (use of bigger vessels, satellite buoys, echo-sounders, supply vessels), thus modifying the species catch composition towards smaller tuna. Other things being equal, raising the proportion of FAD sets by 1% would increase the catches of skipjack by 1.3% and decrease those of large yellowfin tuna by 1.7%. This result shows that the control of effort and investment could be adapted through management measures to encourage one fishing method.

Keywords: Tuna; purse-seine; fish aggregating devices; skipper effect (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

Published in Fisheries Research, 2011, 109 (2-3), pp.234-242. ⟨10.1016/j.fishres.2011.02.007⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-00632070

DOI: 10.1016/j.fishres.2011.02.007

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