The first fad's in the islands of the South West Indian Ocean were moored in the fifties. The area under study forms part of the Indian Ocean Commission which include Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles, Reunion and the island of Mayotte. After a few isolated trials that turned to be inconclusive, especially for lack of reliability of the devices moored, trials were pursued under the auspices of International Organizations. A new type of fad was successfully designed and implemented in Mauritius. This model was then applied in the Comoros in 1987, in la Reunion and Madagascar in 1988 and in Mayotte in 1989. The various programmes have had various results. In some cases such as la Reunion and Mauritius, they have played a key role in the development of the inshore fishery. In other cases they have been less significant. Finally in other cases although a significant impact on artisanal fishery, the experience was halted due to financial constraints. Beyond the history of the various programmes and the results obtained, the authors have attempted to underline the social and economic factors that have characterized the various trials in the different regional countries.