G.W, OLAKUNLE DRIFTING FISH AGGREGATING DEVICE (DFAD), AN EMERGING THREAT TO SEISMIC SURVEYS IN DEEP OFFSHORE OIL EXPLORATION IN NIGERIA.

Abstract

The deeper offshore waters of Nigeria are home to diverse ichthyofauna and also endowed with abundant oil and
gas. Exploration of oil and gas in these locations is opening up a new environmental and navigational challenge,
namely the advent of drifting Fish Aggregating Devices (dFADs). These artificial structures, which are
sometimes of other nationalities than Nigeria, drift into Nigerian waters where they wrap themselves around
seismic cables and also destroy some equipment. Therefore, the objective of this paper was to assess the growing
overlap of drifting Fish Aggregating Devices (dFADs). This study investigates the growing overlap of drifting
FAD use and seismic survey work in the deep offshore region of Nigeria with the aims to provide baseline statistics
about dFAD sightings in survey blocks, assess associated operational risks, and recommend strategic mitigation
pathways for industry stakeholders. Data were collected by trained fisheries liaison officers (FLO) aided by DJI
Pro 3, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) situated on the bridge of source vessel at 17.35m.a.s.l. for eight months.
Drifting aggregating devices detected were recovered, photographed and classified. Overall, 57 dFADs were
recovered and spatially and seasonally trends were found. The report found at-sea observation rate of 0.066
dFAD/h and recorded four entanglement events resulting in 32 hours of lost Seismic operations. This study shows
that an average of 7dFADs is encountered for every 100-hr operation, thereby increasing the risk of seismic
equipment damage and loss of man hour during recovery. Hence, regionally coordinated management and
application of the tools for advanced surveillance to address dFAD-related oil and gas versus fisheries
interactions is recommended. This investigation has provided a baseline statistic about dFAD sightings in survey
blocks, assess associated operational risks and recommend strategic mitigation pathways for industry
stakeholders.