Transcript
LUDWIG KUMORU: What happens is that when you have an object floating our in the ocean you'll normally find fish aggregating under this object so what the fisherman have done, they remake this scenario with man-made FAD stuff.
DON WISEMAN: And a FAD can be made out of pretty much anything?
LK: Pretty much anything, but the way the modern technology brings... that they're deploying satellite monitor buoys, they're little FADs but they have sonar that can actually scan downwards and give you information about the type of fish, the size, and the amount of fish that's under the FAD.
DW: Each boat has a number of these FADs and so depending on the information they're getting back from this sonar reading they're going to the one with the best stock?
LK: Yeah so mostly that's what's happening is they control back at their offices and they're just directing the boats, you go to this trap in this position, but fishing has become very efficient, they're not wasting fuel hunting for fish, they know exactly where to go because they're actually monitoring from the satellite and they know exactly where to go and how much they're going to catch.
DW: The PNA's concern about these, well about FADs generally, but I guess it becomes more so when the technology improves in this way, it's making the fishing even more unsustainable.
LK: Well you know exactly where the fish are and you can just go and harvest, it's like farming, you already know how much fish is there, you're not going to be hunting anymore.
DW: The PNA, you'd like FADs not to be used at all is that right?
LK: It's a way to look at it, basically we want them controlled, minimise the use of FADs, if we say we don't want them at all some of our member countries they're going to suffer a lot of economic loss, some of our really small member countries, their revenue depends on fishing and the fishing comes from fishing on FADs. If they don't allow FAD fishing then nobody wants to go and fish in their EEZ. What we need to do is control the amount of FAD fishing we are doing, we have to cut down on FADs. One of the things the PNA will be doing, 2017, is requiring all those satellite monitor FADs to be registered with the PNA as a requirement for fishing that we are able to track them everywhere where these FADs are going. We'll be working with the manufacturer of those FADs so we will know exactly how many FADs by company and we'll be able to track them. We have to understand how they behave because if you have to find some management and control on these FADs you've got to really understand how they operate.
DW: Do you think though that the distant water operators are going to give you this information?
LK: They have to give us that or else they're not going to fish.
DW: Yes but it's not part of the current contract is it?
LK: We're requiring it now in 2017, as part of this under the vessel day scheme, they'll have to register with the PNA as part of good standing, those who are not registered with PNA cannot fish in PNA waters.
DW: It's not all FADs you want them to notify you about it's just the ones with satellite capability?
LK: That's what we are going to start with, the ones with the satellite capability.
