Compendium of ISSF Research Activities to Reduce FAD Structure Impacts on the Ecosystem ISSF Technical Report 2020-13

The present document summarizes the activities organized and conducted by ISSF with the support of the FAO GEF Common Oceans Tuna Project to reduce the impact of the structure of Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs) on the ecosystem. ISSF’s research activities to reduce the impact caused by FAD structures and move towards the use of biodegradable FADs are: (i) workshops that gather fishers and scientists working in the three oceans to evaluate the potential solutions to minimize the impacts and identify the challenges to be faced, (ii) selection and testing of biodegradable materials in controlled conditions, (iii) pilot tests of experimental biodegradable FADs at sea, and (iv) large scale tests of biodegradable FADs in real fishing conditions. The present report shows the results and recommendations derived from the research completed through December 2019.