Technology also serves to fuel illegal fishing. As in the case of FADs, Short for Fish Aggregating Devices (Fish Aggregating Devices), artificial tools designed to attract pelagic fish such as tuna, mackerel, or mahi-mahi. Essentially, they are floats or underwater structures that exploit the natural behavior of fish, which tend to congregate around floating objects.
How do they work
- They can be floats (buoys, nets, balls) or <br> below the surface.
- They create a point where fish congregate, making it easier to catch with nets or longlines.
- They are often equipped with GPS or radio transmitters to easily locate fish swarms.
The damage they do
The use of FADs can fuel illegal, unregulated, or unreported (IUU) fishing activities for several reasons:
- Massive and indiscriminate capture: FADs attract not only target species (e.g. tuna), but also non-target species and juveniles, increasing the risk of overfishing.
- Difficult to monitor: Many FADs are left adrift, often outside territorial waters, making it difficult to monitor who is using them.
- Damaged environment: the lost FADs become marine litter, trap fish and other marine species, and damage habitats such as coral reefs.
- Use by illegal fleets: large operators or foreign fleets use them to catch tuna in protected areas or during closed seasons, circumventing regulations.
Use of Fad
The use of FADs is massive especially for tuna fishing.
- Every year they are deposited between approximately 81.000 and 121.000 FADs worldwide for tuna and pelagic species fishing, mainly in large tropical and subtropical seas.
- According to some estimates, approximately 40–50% of the world's tuna captured by tuna fleets is taken around the FADs, not in free schools of fish.
Operation "Last Sun" against Fads
THEOperation “Last Sun” is a Italian national campaign/operation carried out in 2025 with the purpose of combat the illegal use of FADs (Fish Aggregating Devices) and protect the marine environment since Mediterranean Sea, particularly in the waters of the maritime compartment of Milazzo (Sicily) and around the Aeolian IslandsThis operation is the result of a Collaboration between the Italian Coast Guard and the environmental organization Sea Shepherd Italia Onlus, with the support of local maritime authorities such as the Catania Maritime Directorate. During the operation, naval units of the Coast Guard, an AW139 helicopter from the Catania Air Unit, and the ship were employed. Sea Eagle by Sea Shepherd Italy. The activity allowed recover and seize approximately 130 kg of illegal materials, including almost 11.000 meters of non-biodegradable polypropylene thread, shade cloths and canisters containing chemical residues, with interventions on seabeds between 1.200 and 1.400 metres.
Cover photo from https://www.crea.gov.it/
Read also:
- Illegal fishing: stop it by not buying small fish.
- Sustainable fishing: techniques to use and those to avoid
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