THE PROBLEM

The use of LED lights to help catch fish is not a new idea.

LED lights have been around for over a decade yet uptake in commercial fisheries still remains poor and fishers targeting swordfish (Xiphias gladius) continue to favour chemical light sticks over LED alternatives.

FISHTEK CONSIDER THE USE OF CHEMICAL LIGHT STICKS TO BE PROBLEMATIC ON TWO COUNTS:

1 – Expensive for fishermen

They are expensive for fishermen. Costing approximately $0.25 (€0.23, ¥27) each, chemical light sticks are an expensive yet necessary disposable outlay for swordfish fishermen globally with lighting costs comprising approximately 10% of trip expenses.

2 – Damaging to the environment

They are environmentally damaging. Fishtek estimate that 700 million chemical light sticks weighing 7,000 tonnes are discarded into our oceans every year.

They wash up onto our beaches as litter and are fatefully mistaken as food items by marine wildlife such as sea turtles.

To date, LED alternatives have not been able to replace the costly and environmentally damaging chemical light sticks as they have not been effectively designed and manufactured at a price that make them a credible alternative