Traditional Fishing Traditions In Maldives Protect Tuna Population For The Future

Illustration of tuna fishing with pole and line technique. (Wikimedia Commons/Paul Hilton)

JAKARTA - A group of Maldivian fishermen line up behind a boat. When they throw rods and hooks without thorns into the water, they lure fish by throwing small baitfish to the surface. The trick is to create the illusion of prey for the tuna.

This method is called pole and line fishing. It is believed by some to have originated in the Maldives, an island nation in the Indian Ocean, and has been passed down from generation to generation for centuries.

As soon as they felt the bite, the fishermen swung the rod up and the fish hit the deck behind them. They repeated this technique for hours, catching fish one by one.

"Fishing with fishing rods and fishing rods is very different from casting nets or catching fish with nets," said Hamid Abdallah, a Maldivian fisherman, as quoted by CNN December 26.

"We fish on pole and line because we want to be able to keep doing it for as long as possible. This is what my family has been doing for generations. Going back to my ancestors, this is our livelihood," he continued.

The Maldives catches nearly 100,000 tonnes of tuna per year, making the fish the country's biggest export commodity. To conserve this food source, the Maldives encourages people to practice all kinds of sustainable fishing.

Tuna illustration. (Wikimedia Commons/Jean-Pierre Bazard)

Pole and line fishing helps eliminate bycatch, where unwanted fish species are caught accidentally, which can be a big problem with other fishing methods.

"When you cast a net, it indiscriminately scoops everything up, regardless of species or size. Pole and line fishing catch fish one by one," said Abdallah.

The global fishing industry is critical to food security, but overfishing and overfishing threaten marine life and disrupt ecosystems.

Worldwide, more than 7 million metric tons of tuna and tuna-like species are caught each year. Tuna fishing was worth at least US$40 billion in 2018, but according to WWF, most tuna stocks have been fully exploited and some are threatened with extinction.

Meanwhile, experts say encouraging fishing with fishing line and line would be better for the environment, but this method is not widespread because it is labor intensive, requires effort, skill and time. However, many Maldives aim to keep the tradition alive.

"When you are at sea for about a week, I don't think much about it, because I really like it. Now we have a lot of young people who are interested in fishing. I like it because that's what my father and ancestors did," concluded Abdallah.