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A fish aggregating (or aggregation) device (FAD) is a man-made object used to attract ocean going pelagic fish such as marlin, tuna and mahi-mahi (dolphin fish). They usually consist of buoys or floats tethered to the ocean floor with concrete blocks. Over 300 species of fish gather around FADs. FADs attract fish for numerous reasons that vary by species. Fish tend to move around FADs in varying orbits, rather than remaining stationary below the buoys. Both recreational and commercial fisheries use FADs. Before FADs, commercial tuna fishing used purse seining to target surface-visible aggregations of birds and dolphins, which were a reliable signal of the presence of tuna schools below. The demand for dolphin-safe tuna was a driving force for FADs.〔Armstrong WA and Oliver CW (1996) (Recent use of fish aggregation devices in the eastern tropical Pacific tuna purse-seine fishery: 1990-1994 ) Administrative report LJ-96-02, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, NOAA.〕 ==Fish behaviour== Fish are fascinated with floating objects. They use them to mark locations for mating activities. They aggregate in considerable numbers around objects such as drifting flotsam, rafts, jellyfish and floating seaweed. The objects appear to provide a "visual stimulus in an optical void",〔Hunter, JR and Mitchell CT (1966) "Association of fishes with flotsam in the offshore waters of Central America". ''US Fishery Bulletin'', 66: 13-29.〕 and offer some protection for juvenile fish from predators.〔Kingsford MJ (1993) ("Biotic and abiotic structure in the pelagic environment: Importance to small fishes ) ''Bulletin of Marine Science'', 53(2):393-415.〕 The gathering of juvenile fish, in turn, attracts larger predator fish. A study using sonar in French Polynesia, found large shoals of juvenile bigeye tuna and yellowfin tuna aggregated closest to the devices, 10 to 50m. Further out, 50 to 150m, was a less dense group of larger yellowfin and albacore tuna. Yet further out, to 500m, was a dispersed group of various large adult tuna. The distribution and density of these groups was variable and overlapped. The FADs were also used by other fish, and the aggregations dispersed when it was dark.〔Josse E, Dagorn L and Bertrand A (2000) ("Typology and behaviour of tuna aggregations around Fish Aggregating Devices from acoustic surveys in French Polynesia" ) ''Aquatic Living Resources'', 13(4): 181-190. (Download )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「fish aggregating device」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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