Proceedings of the Global FAD Science Symposium

Over the past several years, fish aggregating device (FAD) management has become an increasing topic of research and dialogue in industry and management fora – including all of the tropical tuna Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (tRFMO) – as well as in discussions of certification for sustainability and in mitigation of the impact of bycatch on specific species. In order to inform the growing interest in science-based FAD management and a series of individual and joint meetings of the tRFMO FAD working groups, the Global FAD Science Symposium brought together 31 expert FAD scientists and associated stakeholders in FAD use for four days, to discuss and develop commentary in response to an underlying question: “what does well-managed FAD use look like within a tropical purse seine fishery?”

Themes of discussion (see Agenda) included:
• Balance and impact of tuna mortalities associated with FAD use in PS fisheries
• Impacts on non-target species
• Managing FAD capacity and impact

Participants attended the Symposium as experts independent of affiliation, and were not representing policies or positions of any employer. There was an open dialogue among everyone at the meeting. Through 20 presentations (see Presentation Abstracts), several panel discussions, and real time communication between participants, the group began to develop a series of key points on the current state of affairs regarding FAD science and management, gaps in knowledge, and management implications/recommendations. These points formed the basis for a series of five papers (see Outputs: symposium papers for use in tropical tuna management) that were coauthored by all 31 participants. The unanimous authorship on the five output papers indicates both the strength of the scientific information and quality of the dialogue and conclusions from the symposium.

As of the end of 2017, the papers developed at the Symposium have been presented by members of the Steering Group to a joint meeting of the FAD working groups for the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC), and the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC), to individual meetings of the ICCAT and IATTC FAD working groups, to the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission Scientific Committee, and to a stakeholder meeting for the Marine Stewardship Council. In all instances, the papers have been well received and have informed the management discussions at those fora. In particular, the conveners of the joint tuna RFMO FAD Working Group Meeting publicly thanked the Symposium participants for doing so much work to advance the available scientific advice on global FAD management.

Financial resources for participation in the Symposium were provided by The Pew Charitable Trusts, with support from the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation.