2023_programme: The Zunibal Precatch System: a new tool for fishing decision to minimize bycatch in Tropical Tuna Fisheries

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  • Session: 09. New frontiers in fisheries acoustics: applications- analysis- decision and management tools
    Organiser(s): Victor Espinosa
  • Lecture: The Zunibal Precatch System: a new tool for fishing decision to minimize bycatch in Tropical Tuna Fisheries
    Paper ID: 2016
    Author(s): Calise Lucio, Ordoñez Patricia, Ormaechea Egoitz
    Presenter: Calise Lucio
    Abstract: Tuna is the world’s most consumed and the second wild fish caught in the world. Normally, more than 75 % of tuna’s total landing is caught in tropical areas where the most common fishing method is the deployment of seine nets around drifting Fish Aggregating Devices (dFADs). Although efficient, the method has significant bycatch, especially the “size-bycatch”, i.e. individuals of target species of unmarketable size, which strongly influence the recruitment processes that regulate the tuna’s populations. \nAt present, there are no suitable tools capable of discriminating schools underneath the dFADs, therefore the catches are always composed by individuals of target and no-target species of different sizes. \nHere, a tool helping the fishing decision to minimize bycatch in such important fishing areas is presented: the Zunibal Precatch System, which is used and gives a response in near real-time during the pre-catch phase where the check of satisfactory fishable quantity of biomass underneath the dFAD is normally performed by the skipper experience in interpreting the vessel sonars echograms. The system acoustically detects, identifies and estimates the fish schools underneath a dFAD within a multi-frequency processing context.\nDesign and realization of the three elements composing the system: 1) the multi-frequency data acquisition buoy; 2) the buoy-vessel communication system and 3) the onboard processing unit, are illustrated, and particular focus on the acoustic performances evaluation and data processing strategy chosen following the practical and marketing requests is presented.
  • Corresponding author: Mr Lucio Calise
    Affiliation: Zunibal S.L.
    Country: Spain
    e-mail:

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