Projects

The San Pedro FAD Project

The San Pedro Fad Project is a joint effort of the SPGFA, charter/tour businesses and several individuals to put a Fish Aggregating Device in the open ocean about five miles east of San Pedro, Ambergris Caye.

The idea behind this project is to create locations where primarily game fishing charter boats can take tourists to fish for billfish, dorado, wahoo and other pelagic fish. FADs have been successfully deployed all over the world and the boost to fishing has proven remarkable. A few years back a couple similar FADS were put and the hook up rate was high---thus the tremendous interest among all fishing tour guides towards this project.

The SPGFA together with the charter boat operators believe strongly on catch and release and so plan to observe all possible methods of protecting and preserving our fish stock in Belizean waters. The mission of the SPGFA is to educate and promote sport fishing by means of catch and tag and release.

With the placement of Fads on our waters, we expect a great increase on deep sea fishing tours and eventually establishing Belize as a top choice in blue water sport fishing. This would add to our tourism amenities and boost overall tourism in Belize.

What is a FAD?

It has long been known that pelagic fish will aggregate to floating objects like logs, nets, and other debris. However, these objects drift around and may only be occasionally encountered by lucky fishermen. A FAD (fish aggregating device) is an anchored buoy or platform in the open ocean that will also attract and hold pelagic fish like marlin, wahoo, dorado, tuna, sharks and other fish.