Biodegradable FADs
New sustainable materials to mitigate the impacts of drifting FADs on the ecosystem
As part of the European BIOFAD project, AZTI is responsible for providing scientific and technical guidance to the European Commission’s Directorate General MARE on:
- The use of various specific designs and biodegradable materials to build FADs for drift-net fishing under actual sea conditions.
- Identification of options to mitigate the impacts of drifting FADs on the ecosystem.
- Assessment of the socio-economic viability of using BIOFADs in seine tropical tuna fisheries.
This is a pioneering, large-scale initiative to test new biodegradable materials, with has the support and collaboration of tuna companies to test new FAD materials. The ultimate goal is to significantly reduce the amount of synthetic materials used to build FADs, and the accumulation of FADs in the marine environment, maintaining a balance between the durability and safety of such devices and preventing negative impacts on the ecosystem.
This pioneering initiative will eliminate the potential negative impact of Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs)
Applicable sectors
- Freezer tuna sector (purse-seine tropical tuna fishing).
- Companies that produce materials to be used in FAD construction.
Advantages
Improve knowledge on new construction materials for FADs, which will serve both purse-seine tropical tuna companies (to improve the sustainability of their activities) and the administration (for the future implementation of biodegradable FADs in Europe).
Proven track record
- Years of experience in the tropical tuna fisheries sector.
- Knowledge on the use of FADs in the fishing industry.
- Fishing knowledge in general.
- Collaboration with fisheries to develop improvement projects.
