FADS.....

[Capt_John]

Do any of you guys know of a company that makes these buoys? My managers on the Cay here are looking into getting a couple put off of the island. With so many in the DR and I told them how well they worked while I was fishing off of Kauai, they want to get a couple for here. This place is untapped and just a little something to get the fish here in an area would be awesome. Any ideas or contacts would be greatly appreciated.

[tim R]

Originally Posted by Capt_John

Do any of you guys know of a company that makes these buoys? My managers on the Cay here are looking into getting a couple put off of the island. With so many in the DR and I told them how well they worked while I was fishing off of Kauai, they want to get a couple for here. This place is untapped and just a little something to get the fish here in an area would be awesome. Any ideas or contacts would be greatly appreciated.

If it was just a question of putting them out they would be more common, but the local gov't has a huge say in placing these devices and usually the approvals to do so cost a lot more than the 5K to build and set one...

In Hawaii it's done on an independent basis and highly classified by those placing them...Which I know nothing about and will swear to in front of a Grand Jury...

Getting the local officials involved will take time for you, but in the long run is the best way to procure and place this these, they have their negatives as well...If too many are placed it messes with the migratory routes of the Pelagic's....

It's something you want to investigate completely before taking action...

[Twotems]

Originally Posted by Capt_John

Do any of you guys know of a company that makes these buoys? My managers on the Cay here are looking into getting a couple put off of the island. With so many in the DR and I told them how well they worked while I was fishing off of Kauai, they want to get a couple for here. This place is untapped and just a little something to get the fish here in an area would be awesome. Any ideas or contacts would be greatly appreciated.

We make them ourselves in these parts and they can be as simple or elaborate as you wish. Here's how we do it (modify and improve for your conditions):

Jeez Josh, I'm flattered that the Master is asking Grasshopper for some advice. Here goes:

We cut a 50 liter plastic jerry can, fill it with cement and put a rebar ring in it. That's our anchor and ends up weighing about 200lb's. You'll need bigger or more weight depending on the depth you're deploying, we deploy at 100-800 ft. Then you need the appropriate length and strength rope for your depth, keeping in mind the device should always stay 5-20 ft below the surface taking tides into account. After many failures, we've started using heavy swivel shackles at each end with a proper marine buoy at the top. This is because of strong currents and severe twisting. Thereafter, let your imagination take over. Tie on tarps, cement bags, palm fronds, cd's, palletts etc. anything you like really. But made a good guesstimate of the length of rope you're losing as you tie on each attractor so you deploy at the correct depth.

That is basically it. The most important things are your anchor, swivelled (important) shackles, and buoy. Those are the major stress points. I prefer nylon since it can't rot, but hemp rope may be even better since you'll get more algae growth on it.



Good luck.

[Ciguatera]

Here in the islands the FAD system is run by the HIMB or the Hawaii institute of marine biology along with the University of Hawaii and our Division of Aquatic resources or DAR. After talking with Mr. Cortez, who heads this division, he says it costs a lot of money to set up a fad..... probably just under 10 grand. Buoy placement is dependant on fisherman information and large vessel traffic in the area.

I would contact the DAR or DLNR manager in the area to guide you on this issue. It is not as easy as it seems. A lot of planning takes place along with an environmental impact statement for that area and so forth.

[Twotems]

He's in the Turks and Caicos so I doubt he's got the restrictions of US laws to contend with. $10k for a FAD is ridiculous. Here's a chart that will get you what you want. Sorry, the chart doesn't come out properly (the dollar amount is at the end of each line) but you really don't need to be too elaborate:

FAD materials (depth 1800 m) Unit price Quantity Total price
(US$)* (US$)*
Pressure-resistant float (600 m); ¿ 280Ð300 mm; ¿ 19 mm
central hole
8.10 35 + 3 308.0
6 x 19 preformed steel wire; ¿14 mm; 9+9+1 wire strands;
hot-dip galvanised (HDG); interior and exterior greasing
2.15 /m 35 m 75.3
Cable clamp (HDG); ¿ 19 mm 0.88 9 7.9
PVC tube; interior diam. 15Ð16 mm and exterior 18Ð19 mm
(The 14 mm steel wire must be able to pass through this
tube)
0.51 /m 35 m 17.8
Thimble (HDG) for ¿ 19 mm wire rope. 0.99 3 3.0
Thimble (HDG) for ¿ 18 mm wire rope. 0.99 2 2.0
Anchor-type safety shackle (HDG); ¿ 16 mm; square head
bolted pin; cotter pin; high-quality carbon-steel pin.
3.31 1 3.3
Shackle; ¿ 14 mm 3.19 2 6.4
Shackle; ¿ 12 mm 3.01 10 30.1
Swivel (HDG); ¿ 18 mm; eye-and-eye 15.14 2 30.3
Rubber separator; outside diameter 110 mm; central hole
30 mm; thickness 20Ð25 mm; origin: rubber tyres with multitextile
threads without steel
0.71 40 28.4
Polypropylene rope; 3 strands; 20 mm free diam.; ¿ 18 mm
under tension (ref.: iso); anti-UV treatment; 148 g/m;
breaking strength: 4450 kg; 200 m roll
0.35 /m 1800 m 621.8
Nylon rope; 3 strands; 20 mm free diam.; ¿ 18 mm under
tension (ref.: iso); 210 g/m; breaking strength 8300 kg;
200 m roll.
1.44 200 m 287.3
Polypropylene rope; 3 strands; ¿ 6 mm; anti-UV treatment 0.05 200 m 9.5
Chain (HDG); ¿ 12 mm; interior range 78 x 24; central
passage 16 mm; 2.55 kg/m; breaking strength: 4220 kg
6.36 30 m 190.8
Chain (HDG); ¿ 16 mm (in 20 m pieces); interior range
48 x 20; 5.71 kg/m; test load 3,950 kg; breaking strength
9900 kg
8.84 20 m 176.8
Plastic strapping; width 12 mm; 2000 m roll. 17.23 1 roll 17.2
1 kg roll of woven nylon; ¿ 1.5 mm; for splice whipping 12.73 1 kg 12.7
Total $1828.5

[Twotems]

Here's a diagram:

[Ciguatera]

True, he is in a place where restrictions are minimal. We do have illegal buoys here which cost less than 2 grand. Unfortunately in the rough they last no more than a few months before detaching with the mediocre rope used. A true FAD that will last a year or more will cost more than you computed... and then factor in the cost of an extremely large boat that can drop a ton of concrete and miles of 3 inch thick rope along with 50 to a 100 yards of huge chain links. All necessary if the FAD is to last a while. There are two different types of Fads one can deploy. A cheap, budgeted one that'll last a month or two until someone ties to it or the weather snaps it off. Or the semi permanent ones like we have that will probably last 5 or so years. It is up to the ones who fish it. Hawaii's program is pretty good and they help the fisherman out. Illegal buoys do bring fish around temporarily but presents a boating hazard because it is not clearly marked on a GPS or even visible at times (suspended under water due to the currents/winds/weight of chain and rope). That diagram will not last a week in Hawaii and i'm not too sure how the weather/current is over there.

[Twotems]

Originally Posted by Ciguatera

True, he is in a place where restrictions are minimal. We do have illegal buoys here which cost less than 2 grand. Unfortunately in the rough they last no more than a few months before detaching with the mediocre rope used. A true FAD that will last a year or more will cost more than you computed... and then factor in the cost of an extremely large boat that can drop a ton of concrete and miles of 3 inch thick rope along with 50 to a 100 yards of huge chain links. All necessary if the FAD is to last a while. There are two different types of Fads one can deploy. A cheap, budgeted one that'll last a month or two until someone ties to it or the weather snaps it off. Or the semi permanent ones like we have that will probably last 5 or so years. It is up to the ones who fish it. Hawaii's program is pretty good and they help the fisherman out. Illegal buoys do bring fish around temporarily but presents a boating hazard because it is not clearly marked on a GPS or even visible at times (suspended under water due to the currents/winds/weight of chain and rope). That diagram will not last a week in Hawaii and i'm not too sure how the weather/current is over there.

I agree with you on all points. I guess he has to decide how much he wants to spend.

p.s. Those calculations aren't mine, it's from a study done in the Indian Ocean. Heck, our fads barely cost $100.

[Capt_John]

Originally Posted by Ciguatera

True, he is in a place where restrictions are minimal. We do have illegal buoys here which cost less than 2 grand. Unfortunately in the rough they last no more than a few months before detaching with the mediocre rope used. A true FAD that will last a year or more will cost more than you computed... and then factor in the cost of an extremely large boat that can drop a ton of concrete and miles of 3 inch thick rope along with 50 to a 100 yards of huge chain links. All necessary if the FAD is to last a while. There are two different types of Fads one can deploy. A cheap, budgeted one that'll last a month or two until someone ties to it or the weather snaps it off. Or the semi permanent ones like we have that will probably last 5 or so years. It is up to the ones who fish it. Hawaii's program is pretty good and they help the fisherman out. Illegal buoys do bring fish around temporarily but presents a boating hazard because it is not clearly marked on a GPS or even visible at times (suspended under water due to the currents/winds/weight of chain and rope). That diagram will not last a week in Hawaii and i'm not too sure how the weather/current is over there.

I used to run a few charter boats on Kauai and I'm very familiar with Hawaii's FADS. I work for a company here where time and money isn't a big issue with them as long as I can put some paper in front of the guys who write the checks showing that it's worth it to do so. I'm looking to more of the Hawaii style FADS due to the strong winds and current here. But, I'm not beyond a cheaper version in the mean time until the bigger type can be done.

[Twotems]

Originally Posted by Capt_John

I used to run a few charter boats on Kauai and I'm very familiar with Hawaii's FADS. I work for a company here where time and money isn't a big issue with them as long as I can put some paper in front of the guys who write the checks showing that it's worth it to do so. I'm looking to more of the Hawaii style FADS due to the strong winds and current here. But, I'm not beyond a cheaper version in the mean time until the bigger type can be done.

This should help you a great deal then. It's the report I referred to earlier and covers the Caribbean (Martinique), South Pacific, Indian Ocean and a bit of the Atlantic Ocean (Bom Bom).