Fumunda Making Waves

Entrepreneur and owner of Innovation Centre based Fumunda Marine, James Turner, is making waves with an innovative acoustic alarm designed to alert cetaceans (Dolphins, Porpoises and Whales) to the presence of commercial fishing nets, which reduces accidental entanglement in the nets, commonly known as bycatch.

Fumunda has recently supplied 370 of these devices, known as ‘Pingers’, worth approximately $30,000 to SeaNet - a subsidiary of the national environmental not-for-profit organisation OceanWatch.

The Pingers are now being used by commercial gill net fishermen in four states in Australia.

Fumunda Pingers are also supplied to Queensland’s Department of Primary Industries & Fisheries for use on shark nets in New South Wales and Queensland to help alert Dolphins to the presence of the nets.

The DPI&F are supporting Fumunda to develop a Pinger to help reduce Whale entanglements which occur predominantly on the Gold Coast during the annual Humpback Whale migration periods. 

Earlier this year Fumunda was provided funds from Duke University in the USA to design and build a new Pinger which will be more powerful than the existing model. The new Pingers are now being tested in the mid-Atlantic Spanish Mackerel fishery off the East Coast in the USA.

In Europe, Portugal’s Minho University are using a combination of both the existing and new Pingers, in trials which have the full support of the Portuguese Government.

In a new development, Fumunda has been working closely with researchers at the University of Hawaii to develop a battery operated light for use by commercial long liners. The light has been specifically designed to avoid attracting turtles to the baited hooks used by long liners.

Over 250,000 turtles drown on long line hooks every year, many it is believed as a result of being attracted towards lights currently used by long liners. Trials of the new Fumunda TF (Turtle Free) light are due to commence early in the New Year.

James’ passion for this cause has been the driving force behind his company’s success to date and after establishing solid sales in the first year of operation he now wants to grow the company fast.

Fumunda sub-contracts the majority of its design and manufacturing work, using a team of expert engineers, soft ware programmers and industrial designers from all over the world.

Distributors have been established in Europe, the USA and China, with the Australian sales being managed through the Innovation Centre base.

James added “I’d like to have 10-15 staff, including some researchers for product development in the next three years.”

For more information on Fumunda Marine visit www.fumunda.com


Big Deal: Fumunda Marine's James Turner is keen to have pingers, pictured above left, used by gill net fishers Australia-wide.