The International Pole & Line Foundation (IPNLF) has congratulated the Maldivian pole and line fishing industry on achieving MSC certification. It says it will provide a valuable foundation for the country’s traditional fishing communities.
The Maldivian history of fishing for tuna with pole and line, which dates back more than 1,000 years, is of huge importance to the country’s economy and is vital to the survival of local fishing communities. But with most pole and line fisheries being small scale, it is becoming increasingly difficult to survive in an industry which is dominated by heavy industrial fishing.
Dr Hussain Rasheed Hassan, Maldivian Minister of State for Fisheries and Agriculture, said: “The demand for pole and line tuna is increasing all over the world, but in Europe, where the MSC eco label is most highly regarded, it is growing at a phenomenal rate. From the outset, we firmly believed that the Maldivian fishing industry would benefit greatly if it could secure this internationally recognised gold standard for wild fisheries.”
The IPNLF believes such fisheries and fishing communities can be strengthened by increasing the market potential of tuna caught using the pole and line method. Following this week’s MSC certification, the Maldives is expected to land around 90,000 tonnes of MCS certified pole and line tuna in 2013.
