Fish aggregating devices
How fish aggregating devices work
Fish aggregating devices (FADs) provide structure in an open ocean environment. Fish are attracted to FADs for various reasons, including to feed on prey species or as reference points for schooling. Most fish attracted to the Queensland FADs are seasonal pelagic fish, which travel in the warm water delivered by ocean currents.
The FADs work most effectively when the sea temperature exceeds 20°C. Various FADs were assessed to find the best design for the intended species and to withstand the particularly harsh sea conditions experienced off the Queensland coast.
Three types of FADs are deployed off Queensland: surface FADs, subsurface FADs and all-water FADs. Each type is designed specifically for the locations and intended species, and all are anchored to the sea floor.
Surface FADs
These consist of:
- 800mm cone-shaped special marker buoy
- 2nm range marine lantern
- acoustic receiver
- GPS tracker.
These FADs are designed to aggregate pelagic fish, particularly mahi mahi, wahoo, cobia and billfish.
Subsurface FADs
These consist of:
- six 300mm floats
- dyneema aggregators.
The top of the FADs are positioned a minimum 25m below the surface.
These FADs are designed to aggregate mahi mahi, yellowfin tuna and billfish.
All-water FADs
These consist of:
- 800mm cone-shaped special marker buoy
- 2nm range marine lantern
- acoustic receiver
- GPS tracker
- mid-water 300mm buoy/s
- dyneema aggregators
- 1.6 tonne pyramid/ledge and cave habitat anchor/s.
These FADs are designed to aggregate pelagic and demersal fish species including mahi mahi, cobia, mackerel, trevally, golden snapper, cod and coral trout.
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