FY MARINE INC

Fishing is the life blood: Maldivians lived off from what they acquired from the ocean. They respect the seas and nature itself. In turn, this has led to the sustainable fishing methods (pole and line) and the wealth of the seas, which has been passed from generation to generation. 

Pole and line fishing: Tuna fishing in the Maldives is carried out in traditional fishing boats called Dhonis. Around 4 am in the morning, the fishermen head out in their Dhonis to catch bait fish as tuna prefers live bait. Usually shallow areas within the atoll are ideal bait fishing grounds. When they catch enough bait, special bait wells in the dhoni keeps the bait alive. After this, they head out to the open ocean in search of schools of tuna. They do not use fish finders or GPS, but instead they follow the sea birds, as these birds will congregate on schools of tuna.

When the fishermen reach a school of tuna they start throwing the live bait into the sea. This drives the tuna into a feeding frenzy. At this point, the fishermen start casting their fishing poles. This type of fishing is known as pole and line fishing. The poles are usually made from about 10 to 15 feet long bamboo, which has a load bearing capacity of about 25 kilograms. A fishing line is tied to one end of the pole and a barbless hook with a feather is attached to the other end of the fishing line. From a school of tuna that bites well, every fisherman will catch a tuna every minute. Six to seven members doing this simultaneously would feel like tuna rain on the decks of the vessel. A typical Dhoni will catch about 2 to 4 Tons of tuna on a good fishing day. When the fishermen return home (after 5 to 6 hours) they sell the fish for local consumption or to collecting vessels around the country for different purposes, including canning, freezing and export.