Abstract

Moored or anchored FAD (aFAD) fisheries have grown in the Caribbean since the 1980’s and could help mitigate climate change effects on small-scale fishers (Monnereau and Oxenford 2017). However, these fisheries are growing in a data-poor context (CRFM 2015). Between August and October 2021, an online survey - funded by EU Grant GCP/SLC/217/EC to support the Western Central Atlantic Fishery Commission (WECAFC) - was conducted to assess the current state of aFAD fisheries across the insular Caribbean (and Florida). The survey inquired on, among others, numbers of public and private aFAD units deployed, numbers of aFAD fishers and vessels, aFAD unit features (design, materials, life span, cost), existing regulation and monitoring systems, fisher socio-economic characteristics, fishing trip features, fishing techniques and target species, and degree of fisher training. Twenty states/overseas territories participated in the survey.