Introduction of Fish Aggregating Devices in the Southwest Indian Ocean (A Case Study)

Abstract

During the past decades, several countries of the Southwest Indian Ocean region have attempted setting Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs) with varying success. Initially, FADs were rapidly lost without being able to produce any results. The gradual improvement in design through the work carried out mainly by SWIOP1 in the region, lead to the development of long lived FADs in Mauritius. The transfer of that technology to other islands such as Reunion, Madagascar, Comores and Rodrigues (Mauritius) gave a new impulse to the activity.