Design and deployment of an affordable and long-lasting deep-water subsurface fish aggregation device

Ev, Schneider; Ej, Brooks; Mp, Cortina; Dm, Bailey; Killen, Shaun S.; Te, Van Leeuwen

doi:10.1101/2021.01.23.427792

Cited by 3 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…Video and visual surveys were performed on two deep‐water moored subsurface research FADs in the Exuma Sound offshore from the Cape Eleuthera Institute, Eleuthera, the Bahamas, under Department of Marine Resources permit numbers MAMR/FIS/17, MA&MR/FIS/9, and MAMR/FIS/2/12A/17/17B. As described in Schneider et al (2021), the FADs were moored in 600 m depth and 13 km apart, and each consisted of two large steel buoys (71 cm diameter) held 10 m beneath the sea surface. The northernmost of the two FADs (further referred to as North FAD) was installed on August 14, 2017, and the southernmost of the two (South FAD) was installed on October 5, 2017.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…FADs serve to concentrate otherwise sparsely distributed individuals or schools around a floating object (Girard et al, 2004) and can greatly increase capture efficiency in the fisheries that use them (Friedlander et al, 1994; Tilley et al, 2019). Recently, FADs have served as useful research platforms to understand the biology and ecology of various fish species as well as fisheries' impacts on target and bycatch populations (Moreno et al, 2016; Schneider et al, 2021). While this field of research is relatively new, the idea of utilizing FADs as data hubs in the pelagic zone is gaining traction (Brehmer et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Colonization, diversity, and seasonality of fishes at pelagic fish aggregating devices

Schneider,

Talwar,

Killen

et al. 2023

Journal of Fish Biology

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The pelagic zone of the ocean can be a challenging environment to conduct research in, and as a result we lack robust baseline abundance and diversity data, compared to what is available in more accessible coastal habitats, to be able to track changes or stressors to the biota in this environment. Many large‐scale fisheries target pelagic fish, and much of the information available on these species is based on fisheries‐dependent data that may be biased towards hotspots and commercially valuable fishes. Here, a long‐term video and visual fish survey was conducted on two subsurface moored FADs in the pelagic waters of the central Bahamas to determine the feasibility of using moored pelagic FADs as tools for collecting fish abundance and diversity data. A wide range of species were documented, including large migratory fish that are the focus of commercial and recreational fisheries, and smaller often overlooked species on which little abundance or seasonality information exists. We found that FADs colonize quickly and reach a peak stable (albeit seasonally cyclical) abundance and diversity within the first several months after deployment. Species richness was higher in video surveys, but abundance was found to be higher in visual surveys except in sharks. Our results highlight the need to tailor survey methods to fit the context and study objective and provide further evidence for the importance of fisheries‐independent data in monitoring pelagic species.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Colonization, diversity, and seasonality of fishes at pelagic fish aggregating devices

Schneider,

Talwar,

Killen

et al. 2023

Journal of Fish Biology

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“…Baiting sometimes occurred at night at NES. Occasionally, a bait crate was attached to a subsurface, moored fish aggregation device (described in [46]) at NES, and snorkelers intermittently conducted visual surveys of those sites to document sharks. A shark-dive charter company (Epic Diving; V. and D. Canabal) also baited and reported sightings of tagged sharks at CI.…”

Section: Targeted Baiting and Opportunistic Sightingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Insights into the Relative Abundance, Life History, and Ecology of Oceanic Sharks in the Eastern Bahamas

Talwar,

Brooks,

Abercrombie

et al. 2023

Sustainability

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Fisheries-independent data on the diversity, relative abundance, and demographic structure of poorly studied, threatened oceanic sharks are absent from much of the western North Atlantic Ocean, where multiple oceanic shark species have experienced significant population declines. Resource-limited management approaches require the identification of critical habitats or aggregation sites worthy of protection and enforcement. Data were collected on oceanic sharks using pelagic longline surveys, targeted baiting, and opportunistic encounters in oligotrophic open-ocean habitats of north-eastern Exuma Sound (NES), The Bahamas. The oceanic epipelagic shark community was also characterized using targeted baiting off Columbus Point, Cat Island (CI), a seamount north of San Salvador (SSSM), and the north-eastern tip of Mayaguana. Pelagic longline surveys suggested that the relative abundance of sharks at NES was low (shark catch-per-unit-effort: 0.0007 sharks hook−1 h−1; 2.3 sharks per 1000 hooks). Silky sharks Carcharhinus falciformis, particularly juveniles (134 ± 39 cm stretched total length; mean ± SD STL), were the most common. Targeted baiting suggested oceanic whitetip sharks C. longimanus were abundant at CI, where large adults (245 ± 23 cm STL), most of which were females (83.8%, n = 98 of 117) that were gravid (65.7%; n = 46 of 70 assessed for pregnancy), dominated the aggregation. Many (20.5–26.5%, n = 24–31 of 117 depending on assumptions regarding tag loss) were recaptured or resighted at CI for up to five years. Silky sharks dominated catches at SSSM. Oceanic sharks, particularly adults, were sometimes caught or observed alongside short-finned pilot whales Globicephala macrorhynchus or tunas. Although The Bahamas offers threatened oceanic sharks refuge from fishing across its entire jurisdiction, these data suggest that some fixed features, including sites such as CI and potentially SSSM, are important aggregation sites with high regional conservation value and should be prioritized by fisheries managers and enforcement officials.

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“…They can adapt themselves to create a diverse range of biota (Cater, 2008) and have formed a planned area that accelerates wildlife within natural settings (Stolk et al, 2007). These sites can act like Fish Aggregation Devices (FAD) and increase fish abundance (Rountree, 1989;Schneider et al, 2021;Vivier et al, 2021). In return, all these positive contributions increase scuba diving opportunities with a novel subaqueous experience around the sites with an aesthetic pleasure for scuba divers.…”

Section: Alternative Dive Sitesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition to that fishing on alternative dive sites, especially wreck dive sites, was the other problem in this threat risk cycle. As with being Fish Aggregation Devices (FAD) (Rountree, 1989;Schneider et al, 2021;Vivier et al, 2021), popular alternative dive sites attract these recreational fishing fanatics and stakeholders tend to blame them as the main reason for decreasing fish population.…”

Section: C) Recreational Fishing Activitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Redesigning the Scuba Diving Tourism System According to Principles of Sustainability

Bideci¹

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Since the 1940s scuba diving tourism has become popular all over the world, however, this demand also has brought human-driven negative impacts on underwater surroundings. Reducing adverse effects on the marine environment and maximising the unique scuba diving experience depends on long-term socio-economic benefits and protecting natural and alternative marine resources. Over the last decade, system-based approaches have been developed by researchers to examine the interaction of scuba diving activities. However, a better understanding of principles of sustainability and practices and having a broad knowledge about how these are based on normative aspects can provide advantages for stakeholders in the system to reduce negative impacts. Therefore, this thesis aims to redesign the scuba diving tourism system thorough defining the normative aspects based on principles of sustainability. Investigating the research question “to what extent do the normative aspects of the scuba diving tourism system address principles of sustainability”, this study uses an interpretive paradigm as the phenomenological qualitative research method. As a destination that has developed a distinctive but significant scuba diving tourism sector, the main research took place in the Mediterranean archipelago of Malta using face to face interviews with stakeholders and in-situ observation via active participation. As a result, a new systems approach as `Sustainable Scuba Diving Tourism System` (S-SDTS) is proposed which is redesigned based on normative aspects founded on principles of sustainability.

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Design and deployment of an affordable and long-lasting deep-water subsurface fish aggregation device

Cited by 3 publications

References 36 publications

Colonization, diversity, and seasonality of fishes at pelagic fish aggregating devices

Colonization, diversity, and seasonality of fishes at pelagic fish aggregating devices

Insights into the Relative Abundance, Life History, and Ecology of Oceanic Sharks in the Eastern Bahamas

Redesigning the Scuba Diving Tourism System According to Principles of Sustainability

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