The challenge of assessing the effects of drifting fish aggregating devices on the behaviour and biology of tropical tuna

Abstract

Fishers have intensively used drifting fish aggregating devices (DFADs) over the last three decades to facilitate their catch of tropical tunas. DFADs increase purse-seine efficiency, potentially increasing tuna fishing mortality. They could also have impacts on tuna natural mortality and reproductive potential, and assessing the consequences of their presence at sea on tuna populations is a challenge. The use of DFADs results in a major increase in the number of floating objects, which are spatially heterogeneous at sea. To date, no converging scientific results exist regarding the effects of DFADs on the large-scale movements and behaviour of tuna, mainly due to the difficulty of disentangling the respective roles of DFADs and environmental factors. Some biological indices show that tuna condition is lower when associated to a floating object than in a free-swimming school. However, it is not clear whether this is the cause or the consequence of the association nor if it has long-term effects on individuals' fitness. Further scientific progress requires (i) the collection of time series of indicators to monitor habitat change, individual behaviour, individual fitness, and population dynamics and (ii) experimental studies to identify the underlying behavioural and biological processes involved in associative behaviour. The extent of the modification of the surface habitat by the massive deployment of DFADs and the current uncertainty of the possible long-term consequences on the individual fitness and dynamics of tuna populations argue for the need for increased awareness of this issue by Regional Fisheries Management Organisations regulating tuna fishing.