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Observed changes in the species composition of tuna schools in the Gulf of Guinea between 1981 and 1999, in relation with the Fish Aggregating Device fishery

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 July 2000

Alain Fonteneau ,
Javier Ariz ,
Daniel Gaertner ,
Viveca Nordstrom  and
Pilar Pallares
Alain Fonteneau
Affiliation:
IRD, Dep. HEA, BP 5045, 34090 Montpellier, France
Javier Ariz
Affiliation:
Instituto Español de Oceanografía, Apartado de Correos 1373, 38080 Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Islas Canarias, Spain
Daniel Gaertner
Affiliation:
IRD, Dep. HEA, BP 5045, 34090 Montpellier, France
Viveca Nordstrom
Affiliation:
IRD, Dep. HEA, BP 5045, 34090 Montpellier, France
Pilar Pallares
Affiliation:
Instituto Español de Oceanografía, Maria de Molina 8, 28002 Madrid, Spain
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Abstract

This paper compares the species composition of free swimming schools and schools associated with fish aggregating devices (or FADs) observed by scientists in the eastern equatorial Atlantic during the early eighties and late nineties. This comparison shows that in free swimming schools, big changes in the species composition have occurred. The main change is a rarefaction of mixed species free schools (skipjack and small yellowfin or bigeye). This change is probably a real biological one, and possibly a consequence of the large numbers of FADs seeded in the area since 1990. Nowadays, most small tuna living in the equatorial area appear to be concentrated under these drifting FADs instead of in free schools. Further study is recommended in order to evaluate the validity and interpretation of this result and to examine its implications.

Keywords

tunafish aggregating deviceFADspecies assemblagebehaviorschoolspurse seine fisheryEastern Central Atlantic
Type
Research Article
Information
Aquatic Living Resources , Volume 13 , Issue 4: Mechanisms and Effects of the Aggregation of Tuna by FADs , July 2000 , pp. 253 - 257
Copyright
© Elsevier, Inra, Ifremer, Cemagref, Ird, Cnrs, 2000

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