INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY 2019 - MALDIVES
In 2019, I was invited by the Dhivehi Masverin (Maldivian Tuna Fishing Industry) to travel to the Maldives in order to document their International Women's Day Pole and Line Fishing events being held on the rural island of Gemanafushi.
The Maldives is famous for having one of the most sustainable tuna fishing practices in the world, using only simple pole and line fishing techniques to catch tuna, instead of using nets. Typically this is a male oriented industry due to the physical nature of the task and the long time away out at sea. However, to coincide with International Women's Day, the local industry held an event where a group of 30 women from the Bank of Maldives, were invited to live out the day in a life of a fisherman, from bait catching, to the actual fishing itself.
My role was to photograph and document the event, in order to provide images for both the Dhivehi Masverin and the Bank of Maldives to use to celebrate the event on their websites, marketing campaigns and social media. This also was used as a platform to showcase and celebrate the sustainable Maldivian tuna fishing practices to the world.
DAY 1
After travelling a total of 3 hours to reach the island by a short flight and boat ride, The first day of the event begun with a meetup along the docks of Gemanafushi, where we met up with the women and local fisherman over some afternoon tea and snacks. Once we were all acquainted, it was now time to board the vessel. The goal of today was to do a mock run through of the bait catching practices, as the actual bait in which would be used the following day, would be caught much later that night.
When everyone was on board, it was time to set sail! A handful of ladies were invited up to the top deck to have a go at steering the large vessel. Thankfully we were met with some beautiful conditions, with partly cloudy skies and barely a breath of wind. The fisherman explained that we were heading out to a location about 45 minutes from shore where they would normally catch hauls of Lanternfish - prime Tuna bait!
After a lovely 45 minute cruise out into the open ocean, we arrived at the location. Firstly, the bait net was pulled out from the a hatch in the hull and was laid out along the edge of the deck. The ladies were then asked to line up along the net in order to prepare it to be placed in the water. As the ladies line up, a group of the fisherman brought out some scuba gear and began suiting up. The men explained that a dive team is used to dive the net down underwater to ensure the net forms the correct shape and to ensure there are no tangles or tears. A couple of the ladies were keen to be involved in this part of the process and also suited up in dive gear.
With the dive team all ready, they jumped in the water in preparation for the net to be dropped in. The ladies on the boat began to drop the net into the water. The dive team quickly sprung into action and began to dive down with the weighted ends of the net. The men on board explained that they would be forming a 'scoop' like shape, to ensure the net can catch a significant haul, whilst also being easy to pull back in.
Once the net was fully set up, the dive team immediately brought the net back up. Once it surfaced, the ladies used ropes that were attached to the net in order to heave the huge net back into boat. As the net was hauled in, others would pull and fold the net back along the edge of the deck, so that the net could be put away efficiently.
After a demonstration of how the net is packed away, it was time to head back to the island for a beach-side BBQ dinner and an early night.
A small dinghy picked all the participants up and ferried us back to the island.
The fishing vessel would stay out at sea with the net in the water overnight, so that bait could be caught for the next day's events.
DAY 2
After a 4am wake-up, we gathered in the darkness along the docks in order to head back out to the fishing vessel. Once we were on board the vessel, we all gathered around a huge spotlight in which was attached to the side of the deck shining directly into the water. This light was left on overnight above the net in order to attract the Lanternfish. As we all looked over the edge of the boat, we could see thousands of tiny fish in the net, all illuminated by the spotlight.
It was now time to haul in the net! The dive team re-entered the water to pull up the bottom of the net, ensuring the 'scoop' formation held, trapping the bait fish inside. With the formation of the net brought close to the surface with the fish inside, a fisherman on the deck then grabs a scoop net and begins to scoop up the fish and place them in a huge tank situated within the deck of the boat. After a good 30 minutes of manic scooping and running back and forth to the tank, the net was finally empty.
As the morning sun rose above the horizon, the net was pulled back into the boat and stored away, and we set off to a nearby Tuna fishing location.
We were heading to a nearby Tuna aggregating device in which sits under a buoy in the middle of the ocean. It was obviously a popular spot, as when we arrived several boats were already fishing.
As we arrived, we learnt about the equipment and techniques that we would be using. Instead of using large nets in which causes harm to marine ecosystems by capturing unwanted by-catch species, the Malidivan fisherman use a simple pole and line method. The fisherman use a 12 foot pole fitted with a line and barbless hook and lure, which is used to quickly snag and pull Tuna out of a feeding frenzy in the water, and thrown onto the boat in one swift motion. This feeding frenzy is caused by constantly throwing handfuls of baitfish into the water, whilst also spraying jets of water out the back of the boat - this creates the illusion to the Tuna that a huge school of baitfish are feeding, and the Tuna just can't resist!
With plenty of bait being thrown into the water, it wasn't long before we could see Tuna jumping out of the water off the back of the boat. With excitement filling the air, the rods were assembled and the ladies lined up along the back of the boat to catch their first Tuna. With lines in the water trawling behind the boat, we all waited for some action. Suddenly, one of the ladies hooked up and quickly flung a small Tuna into the boat. Since the hooks are barbless, the Tuna will fall off the hook easily, once pulled onto the deck of the boat - meaning no time is wasted unhooking the fish.
It wasn't long before most of the ladies were hooked up on some Tuna, and at this point, fish were literally flying everywhere around the deck. There were a few moments where one of the ladies would hook onto a large Tuna, since these fish fight extremely hard, some of the fisherman would lend a hand and assist with pulling them in.
Now it was my turn to give it a go. I grabbed a pole and stood along the rear of the boat. I could see dark shadows zooming around in the water in front of me. I cast out my line into the water and waited with anticipation. Suddenly, I was hooked on - it felt as if a truck had suddenly attached itself to my hook and had started to drive off - these Tuna sure can fight! It was a bit of a struggle to pull the Tuna out and fling it onto the deck, but eventually I landed my first Yellowfin Tuna.
As the team continued to bring in fish after fish, we noticed the Tuna were getting larger by the minute. The ladies could no longer pull up the fish due to their sheer size, so the crew decided to take over and give us a demonstration of their skill. In no time at all, they were flinging in enormous Tuna with ease, as if they were Sardines- a true testament to their skill and prowess. After watching the men for 10 minutes or so the deck, the captain suggested that we call it a day and head back to the island. The rods were packed up, we took some group photos and we started to head back to Gemanafushi with other 300kg of Tuna.
On the way back to the island, the crew began to show the ladies how to gut and clean the Tuna. The deck suddenly turned red as innards and gizzards were cut out of the Tuna. Some parts were instantly thrown back into the sea, whereas some were kept. They explained that some parts are used to create Maldivian Tuna paste, a local delicacy used as a condiment with most meals.
We arrived back at the docks of Gemanafushi and prepared to offload today's catch. Once the boat was tied up and we were back on dry land, some crew members went off to fetch a large wagon. With the wagon now on the side of the dock, we began to load it with the day's catch. After offloading all the Tuna from the boat, the ladies started to pull the wagon into town. These fish would now be transported to the other side of the island where they would be either cooked and processed to make Tuna paste, or they would be stored for future use.
We all took turns pulling the wagon along which made for some laughs under the hot, midday sun. We arrived at a small shack with had a large outdoor kitchen. The Tuna were now taken out of the wagon and placed in a large pot where they would be cooked down. Some were given to local families that had stared to gather around whilst some were set aside to keep for later. The crew explained that they were looking to produce more Tuna paste in hopes that they could sell it to other parts of the Maldives, as well as export it internationally.
We all felt both immense satisfaction and exhaustion after a hard day's work, so we all decided to part ways and take a well deserved afternoon siesta.