The FAD fishery in the Gulf of Thailand: time for management measures

Fish aggregating devices (FADs) used in the Gulf of Thailand are made of bamboo poles, twisted wire and coconut leaves, fastened to a concrete block. Purse seines with 2.5 cm mesh size are used to surround the fish, using fishing boats ranging from 18 to 26 m in overall length. Fishing grounds are located in the central Gulf of Thailand at a depth of 25–60 m. Catch per unit effort (CPUE), species composition and size of economically important species were analyzed by collecting data from fishing boats using FADs at nine main fishing ports along the Gulf of Thailand between January and December 2007. The results show that the average CPUE was 3351 kg day-1, which was composed of 88% pelagic fishes, 5% demersal fishes, 4% trash fishes and 2% squids and cuttlefishes. The major pelagic species were Indian mackerel (Rastrelliger kanagurta), Indian scad (Decapterus russelli) and bigeye scad (Selar crumenophthalmus), which made up 25%, 24% and 8% of the total catch, respectively, while neritic tunas (kawakawa; Euthynnus affinis, frigate tuna; Auxis thazard thazard and longtail tuna; Thunnus tonggol) made up 8% of the total catch. The mean length of ten economically important species was smaller than their size at first maturity, while two species were above their size at first maturity. The results indicated that juvenile fish were mostly being caught by FAD fishery, and this may lead to depletion in fisheries resources and economic loss. Although there is a set of measures to control the use of purse seines, effective management of the FAD capacity is also urgently needed.