Maldives: Pole Fishing
Images taken whilst spending 24 hours with a group of commercial pole fishermen in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Addu Atoll in the Maldives. Commercial fishing in the Maldives is done by catching small bait fish with nets off the side of fishing dhonis at night. With the bait fish caught, the fishing dhoni then heads out into the open ocean searching for schools of tuna.
The fishermen typically look for gatherings of birds feeding on small fish at the ocean surface - it is more than likely that tuna will be feeding too. The fishermen line the back end of the dhoni each with a bamboo pole strung with a fishing line and a hook. Men in the middle of the dhoni throw handfuls of small bait fish over the side helping ensure the tuna stay at the surface eating. The fishermen literally hook the tuna (typically 7-9 kilos each) and heave them onto the deck of the fishing dhoni were they die within 2 to 3 minutes, flapping violently around on the deck.
Fishermen work 6 days per week, having Friday prayer day off. Fishermen in this photo typically earn 1000 Ruyfia ($78 USD June 2006) each for a 7 tonne catch. A typical working day may be as long as 15 hours or more. While catch size varies significantly, fishermen can catch up to 30 tonnes on good days. Most weeks fishermen in this photo series can expect to earn 4,000 to 5,000 Ruyfia ($313 to $392 USD June 2006). The fish is then on sold to a fish processing ship which will snap freeze the tuna and take it to South East Asia to sell.
While the work is regarded as inherently dangerous, most fishermen agree that it is one of the better paying jobs a Maldivian can have in the Maldives.
Fishermen take a short nap on the back deck of a fishing dhoni in the Indian Ocean. Working long hours, the fishermen sleep when ever they get the opportunity.
Commercial fishermen on a fishing dhoni start their day at 11.30 at night. Strong coffee and tea is drunk by all to help wake up and get ready for the coming 15 hours of work.
A fisherman sleeps alongside a dead Yellowfin Tuna whilst on board a commercial fishing dhoni.
A fisherman hooks a 7-9 kilogram tuna and heaves it on board a commercial fishing dhoni.
A fisherman hooks a 7-9 kilogram tuna and heaves it on board a commercial fishing dhoni.
Overview of commercial fishermen using a technique called pole and line fishing.
Tuna is unloaded from a commercial fishing dhoni to a fish processing vessel in 1 tonne containers. The fish will be snap frozen and exported to South East Asia for sale.
A commercial fishing dhoni approaching a fish processing vessel. The fishing dhoni will off load the days catch of 7 tonnes of tuna to the processing vessel.
All imagery copyright Thomas Pickard Photography
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Fishing in the Maldives has changed over the last five years. What the author has described is modern day fishing in the Maldives. Large fishing boats like the one on the photo are not very widely used by local fishermen. If you spend a day on each island of the Maldives, you are more likely to see a traditional Dhoni, with 5-8 fishermen, leaving their island at the break of dawn and return home at sunset.
1 February 2009 at 9:45 pm