Tens of thousands of years ago, our ancestors took to the ocean in search of food. Since that time, we have become increasingly aware of the innate behavior of certain species of fish, and especially their attraction to floating objects. Ancient texts from the Roman Empire explain how bunches of floating reeds tied together could produce large schools of mahimahi within rowing distance of shore. The knowledge of how to fish around specific floating logs has been passed down for many generations in Pacific Island communities, and even the average weekend angler is aware a weed line or floating piece of trash can produce fish. With the knowledge that many offshore species share an affinity for floating objects, it didn’t take long for people to start building their own fish aggregating devices, or FADs, in order to produce more productive fishing.
So exactly what is a FAD? A FAD is any man-made object placed into the water with the intent of increasing the density of fish in an area. There are two main types: drifting FADs, which are not attached to the bottom and float freely with the currents, and moored, or anchored, FADs, which are attached in a specific location, meant to be permanent or at least semipermanent, and made from a wide variety of natural and man-made materials. Throughout history, the most common materials used for FADs are those that are readily available and inexpensive, such as palm fronds, reeds or bamboo. In more recent years, modern materials and technological advancements have allowed