Abstract

Moored Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs) are anchored floating objects placed in the sea to aggregate pelagic fishes so as to facilitate their capture. Over the past three decades, there has been a rapid development of a small-scale artisanal FAD fishery in some Caribbean states, including Haiti. However, the current state of the FAD fishery in Haiti remains poorly documented. Here, I report the results of FAD fishing trip surveys and meetings with FAD fishers in January-February 2015 at selected localities along 610 km of coastline in the south of Haiti - an area with about 21,700 fishers - so as to provide baseline data on the FAD fishery. At that time, a total of 21 FADs were being used across locations by about 10% of the fisher population (and fishing vessels). Most fishing vessels were small (? 7 m long) and equipped with small outboard engines (15 hp). Main fishing techniques were drift lines with live bait and trolling. The main species landed were yellowfin tuna, blue marlin, blackfin tuna and dolphinfish, with yearly landings (all species combined) being non-negligible in some localities (?13.6 tonnes per year). FAD data collection systems were weak, except where fishers were supported by external aid. Overall, the FAD fishery in south Haiti contributes to food security and helps support fishers’ livelihoods. However, there is urgent need to develop national fisheries management plans and improve fishery monitoring systems to ensure a profitable and biologically sustainable FAD fishery and facilitate Haiti’s integration into key regional fishery management organizations.

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