Pole and Line Is the Keyword When Shopping Tuna

Tuna is a tasty meal with various health benefits. It provides energy, lowers blood pressure, improves the immune system, and weight loss among others. You don’t just have to pick any tuna product off the shelf. It’s important to be concerned about tuna origin. You had better stick to sustainably sourced tuna that inhibits overfishing and promotes other marine life to thrive. The trick is to choose tuna from a source where the main fishing method is pole and line. Fish can be caught using various methods but pole and line is the most eco-friendly and cleanest option.

What is pole and line fishing?

This is an ancient fishing method practiced in the Maldives dating back centuries. It involves fishermen using handheld poles to catch fish. Pole and line fishing is a more sustainable fishing method because it’s very selective. Fishermen rarely catch other species apart from tuna. In case it happens, these are returned to the ocean unharmed. It protects marine life that perished resulting from bycatch issues of using other fishing methods by commercial fishing vessels.

Because pole and line fishing is labor-intensive, it employs various people in the Maldives. It involves a number of fishermen standing shoulder to shoulder armed with a long pole strung with a line and lure. The poles are cast into the ocean to come with tuna jerked out one by one before putting it cold boxes to preserve freshness. Tuna exporting companies support local fishermen with requirements such as good boats and cold boxes to preserve fish quality before it reaches the consumers.

Why pole and line tuna is better

With the threat of the extinction of various species, sustainability is very important in the fishing industry. Luckily, the best Maldives tuna is caught by pole and line, which is very eco-friendly. It has fewer chances of hooking sharks, diving seabirds, or sea turtles by mistake. Any unlucky ones are safely set free before drowning. Other fishing methods like long lines and drift gillnets have a lot of bycatch. Pole and line fishing in the Maldives is much cleaner with less than one percent chance of bycatch.

In addition, pole and line catches commercially important tuna species such as yellowfin, skipjack, albacore that have healthy stocks. This is a very sustainable option to catch tunas. In the Maldives, reliable exporting companies sell fresh tuna products in various forms including frozen, chilled, and pre-packed. These are in various portions including:

 Skipjack loin
 Yellowfin tuna loin
 Yellowfin tuna chunks
 Frozen skipjack steak 200g
 Frozen yellowfin tuna steaks

Maldivian fishing industry

Eating Maldivian tuna significantly supports the country’s economy. Here, fishing tuna is a great source of livelihood with everyone proud to support the industry. To catch enough tuna for export, various groups of fishermen spend hours on fishing boats catch tuna using pole and line method. This ensures that you get your regular portion of fresh and quality tuna for a healthy body. Maldivians get 71 percent of the protein from fish and eat about a pound of fish daily on average. It makes them have the highest per capita fish consumption in the world.

Luckily, the activities of Maldivian fishing are sustainable and support the existence of marine life. In addition, fishing activities here ensure a reliable supply of fresh tuna to different markets including Europe, Asia, USA, Canada, Britain, and others. Quality assurance is enforced in the fishing industry to ensure that the products meet minimum standards. This is possible through periodic audits and certification by local bodies and international organizations such as:

 British Retail Consortium
 Friend of the Sea Certification
 Earth Island Institute for dolphin safety
 ISO 22000:2005 Food Safety Management System
 Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points for quality manufacturing practices

Bottom line

A regular meal of tuna is a wonderful idea. Ensure that your tuna supplies are from a sustainable source that practice safe and clean practices like pole and line fishing method. This is the safest and cleanest method to catch tuna while maintaining other marine life. It’s no wonder that the best tuna today comes from the Maldives where pole and line method has been in use for centuries. Here, groups of fishermen work tirelessly to catch tuna to supply the market in a sustainable manner.