Fiomarine Industries Pty Ltd, based in Australia, are designers and manufacturers of ropeless subsea equipment and gear retrieval systems. Fiomarine realized a need for ropeless systems over 20 years ago because of a near-fatal boating accident caused by traditional fixed gear fishing operations. From this event the original Fiobuoy concept was created, it has been deployed in diverse applications and configurations since that time. The Fiobuoy is an all in one ropeless solution that is comprised of an acoustic modem, mechanical release, and popup buoy with an integrated line spool. The system has a unique acoustic identifier code allowing for easy data management while providing system security.
Marine wildlife entanglement occurrences are a global problem that has no territorial boundaries. Traditionally fixed gear fishing equipment comprised of traps, lines, and float assemblies, as used in crab and lobster fisheries, have been found to be a major source of these entanglements. Lost gear occurrences in traditional fixed gear fisheries are caused by entanglement, poaching, vessel strike, vandalism, territorial disputes, and heavy weather.
The impact to marine wildlife from entanglement and lost gear is now recognized as a serious concern and prompted environmentally conscious stakeholders to desire advanced mitigation strategies. State-sponsored Agencies, Non-Governmental Organizations, academia, and other interest groups have begun identifying areas that are particularly prone to marine biota ensnarement and lost gear occurrences. In addition to ensnarement location data, the frequency of entanglement numbers is starting to be available to further quantify the scale of the problem. Bycatch from lost ghost traps is an ever-increasing problem regardless of designed weak links in traps, gear can continue to fish for years.
Recognizing the pressure imparted on critically endangered species Fiomarine entered into a development program to provide a purpose-built Fiobuoy for the commercial fishing market. The result of two decades of experience created the new Fiobuoy F-Series commercial ropeless fishing system.
Fiobuoy is a registered trademark of Fiomarine.