Progress Report of Project 110: Non-entangling and Biodegradable FAD Trial in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean [2024]

WCPFC Project 110 (the project) is conducting trials of non-entangling and biodegradable drifting Fish Aggregation Devices (dFADs) in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO), with the objective to provide essential information to the WCPFC and tuna fishing industry on the designs, types of materials, performance, implementation challenges and cost-effectiveness of non-entangling and biodegradable dFADs in the WCPO context. The project will support industry to uptake more ecologically sustainable dFAD designs and provide the WCPFC with information to support consideration of Conservation and Management Measures (CCMs) related to non-entangling and biodegradable dFADs. SPC is also collaborating closely with the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) on non-entangling and biodegradable dFAD trials in the Pacific, involving both this project and their NOAA funded Bycatch Reduction Engineering Program (BREP) project with the US purse seine fleet, so that data, skills and resources can be leveraged across all the bio-FADs work in the Pacific. Results presented in this paper cover jelly-FADs deployed as part of both projects in the Pacific Ocean.