Mitigating impacts of fishing on pelagic ecosystems
15-18 Oct 2012 Montpellier (France)
Monday 15
Session 2: FISH ASSOCIATED WITH FADS: BIOLOGY & BEHAVIOR

› 17:10 - 17:30 (20min)
› Auditorium
The behavioural ecology of two major bycatch species of the tuna purse-seine fishery: the oceanic triggerfish and the rainbow runner
Fabien Forget  1, 2, 3, *@  , John David Filmalter  1, 3, 4  , Paul Cowley  2@  , Laurent Dagorn  5@  
1 : Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement  (IRD)
Mahe -  Seychelles
2 : South African Institute of Aquatic Biodiversity  (SAIAB)
Private Bag 1015, Grahamstown, 6140 -  South Africa
3 : Rhodes University
Private Bag 1015, Grahamstown 6140 -  South Africa
4 : South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity  (SAIAB)
Private Bag 1015, Grahamstown, 6140 -  South Africa
5 : IRD, France
Mahe, Seychelles -  Seychelles
* : Corresponding author

The rainbow runner (Elagatis bipinnulata) and the oceanic triggerfish (Canthidermis maculatus) are two of the main bycatch species of the FAD-based tuna purse-seine fisheries in the world. Within the framework of an ecological based management, baseline information of these species is required to assess the ecosystem impacts of tuna fisheries. To date, little information is available on the basic biology and behaviour of those two species. Acoustic telemetry on fish associated with FADs (57 oceanic triggerfish and 26 rainbow runners) provided information on their associative behaviour. Additionally, biological sampling on fish caught by purse seiners was used to investigate the diet of both species.


Online user: 1 RSS Feed