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. 2021 Aug;35(4):1222-1232.
doi: 10.1111/cobi.13684. Epub 2021 Mar 8.

Risks to large marine protected areas posed by drifting fish aggregation devices

David J Curnick  1 , David A Feary  2 , Geórgenes H Cavalcante  3   4
Affiliations

Risks to large marine protected areas posed by drifting fish aggregation devices

David J Curnick et al. Conserv Biol. 2021 Aug.

Abstract
in English, Spanish

Mapping and predicting the potential risk of fishing activities to large marine protected areas (MPAs), where management capacity is low but fish biomass may be globally important, is vital to prioritizing enforcement and maximizing conservation benefits. Drifting fish aggregating devices (dFADs) are a highly effective fishing method employed in purse seine fisheries that attract and accumulate biomass fish, making fish easier to catch. However, dFADs are associated with several negative impacts, including high bycatch rates and lost or abandoned dFADs becoming beached on sensitive coastal areas (e.g., coral reefs). Using Lagrangian particle modeling, we determined the potential transit of dFADs in a large MPA around the Chagos Archipelago in the central Indian Ocean. We then quantified the risk of dFADs beaching on the archipelago's reefs and atolls and determined the potential for dFADs to pass through the MPA, accumulate biomass while within, and export it into areas where it can be legally fished (i.e., transit). Over one-third (37.51%) of dFADs posed a risk of either beaching or transiting the MPA for >14 days, 17.70% posed a risk of beaching or transiting the MPA for >30 days, and 13.11% posed a risk of beaching or transiting the MPA for >40 days. Modeled dFADs deployed on the east and west of the perimeter were more likely to beach and have long transiting times (i.e., posed the highest risk). The Great Chagos Bank, the largest atoll in the archipelago, was the most likely site to be affected by dFADs beaching. Overall, understanding the interactions between static MPAs and drifting fishing gears is vital to developing suitable management plans to support enforcement of MPA boundaries and the functioning and sustainability of their associated biomass.

Riesgos para las Grandes Áreas Marinas Protegidas Ocasionados por los Dispositivos Agregadores de Peces a la Deriva Resumen El mapeo y la predicción del riesgo potencial que las actividades de pesca representan para las grandes áreas marinas (AMP), en donde la capacidad de manejo es baja pero la biomasa de peces puede ser de importancia global, son vitales para priorizar la aplicación y maximizar los beneficios de conservación. Los dispositivos agregadores de peces a la deriva (DAPds) son un método de pesca altamente efectivo y empleado en las pesquerías de redes de cerco. Estos dispositivos atraen y acumulan biomasa de peces, facilitando así la captura de peces. Sin embargo, los DAPd están asociados con varios impactos negativos, incluyendo tasas altas de captura accesoria y DAPd perdidos o abandonados que terminan varados en áreas costeras sensibles (p. ej.: arrecifes de coral). Mediante el modelado de partículas langrangianas, determinamos el tránsito potencial de los DAPd en una AMP grande alrededor del Archipiélago Chagos en el centro del Océano Índico. Después cuantificamos el riesgo de varamiento de los DAPd en los arrecifes y atolones del arrecife y determinamos el potencial que tienen los DAPd de pasar por la AMP, acumular biomasa durante el trayecto y exportarla a áreas en las que es legal su pesca (es decir, transitar). Más de un tercio (37.51%) de los DAPd representaron un riesgo de varamiento o tránsito a través de la AMP durante >14 días y el 17.70% representó un riesgo de varamiento o tránsito a través de la AMP durante >40 días. Los DAPd modelados desplegados en el este y en el oeste del perímetro tuvieron mayor probabilidad de varamiento o de tener tiempos de tránsito largos (es decir, representaron el riesgo más alto). El Gran Banco de Chagos, el atolón más grande en el archipiélago, fue el sitio con mayor probabilidad de ser afectado por el varamiento de los DAPd. En general, el entendimiento de las interacciones entre las AMP estáticas y el equipo de pesca a la deriva es vital para el desarrollo de planes de manejo adecuados para respaldar el cumplimiento de los límites de las AMP y el funcionamiento y sostenibilidad de la biomasa asociada a ellas.

Keywords: Archipiélago Chagos; Chagos Archipelago; atún; beaching; contaminación; fisheries; marine protected area; pesquerías; pollution; purse seine; red de cerco; tuna; varamiento; área marina protegida.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The 14 atolls or shallow banks (a) where drifting fish aggregation devices (dFADs) could beach in the Chagos Archipelago and (b) the 16 points on the perimeter of the large marine protected area (solid line) where dFADs were released.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Schematic of a typical drifting fish aggregation device (dFAD) and an image of a dFAD beached on a reef in the Chagos Archipelago (photo by Dan Bayley).
Figure 3
Figure 3
The predicted dispersal routes of drifting fish aggregation device (dFADs) released from 16 source locations around the Chagos Archipelago in January 2017 (days, duration of dFAD drift in days). The dFAD movement was predicted with a passive particle dispersal model run within the Connectivity Modeling System (CMS) (Paris et al. 2013).
Figure 4
Figure 4
The risk of drifting fish aggregation devices (dFADs) entering the Marine Protected Area (MPA) around the Chagos Archipelago over 3 months (November, December, and January) and from 16 source locations around the MPA's perimeter (circle center points, location where dFADs were released; no circle, no dFADs predicted to pose a risk; circle size and color intensity, percentage of dFADs predicted to pose a risk; green, risk of becoming beached; purple, risk of drifting through the MPA for >14 days; red, risk of beaching or drifting through the MPA for >14 days).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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