Analyses of the regional database of stranded drifting Fish Aggregating Devices (dFADs) in the Pacific Ocean

This paper presents initiatives started or under-development by Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs) and in collaboration with the Pacific Community, local organisations, and/or NonGovernmental Organisations, to collect data on lost/abandoned Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs) reaching coastal waters and/or becoming stranded, as well as the potential impacts of these events on coastal environments. Preliminary analyses of this regional database are presented in this paper, with four objectives defined: (i) quantify and characterize stranding events using data collected directly in-situ; ii) evaluate number of entanglements and area of habitat impacted; (iii) assess the design and materials of FADs found stranded; (iv) highlight any origins areas of FADs found stranded in relation to areas of deployment and owner fleets. A total of 2,249 stranding events have been reported in the regional database across 18 PICTs in 2006—2023, with dedicated programs in place in 11 PICTs (Australia; Cook Islands; Federated States of Micronesia; Galapagos; Hawai’i; Marshall Islands; New Caledonia; French Polynesia; Palmyra; Tuvalu; and Wallis and Futuna). A higher number of stranding events per 1° cell were reported in French Polynesia, Wallis and Futuna and the Cook Islands, but it could be due to higher data collection efforts rather than reflecting actual higher levels of stranding events.