Capture Fishery Project Skipjack Tuna Maledives
More than 600 traditional Maldivian boats (dhonis) participate in this fishery project. The skipjack tunas (lat. Katsuwonus pelamis) are caught individually by the fishers with pole and line, using bamboo poles with nylon lines and artificial lures made from metal and coloured fibres. In this fishery, there is virtually no by-catch.
The fishers attract the tuna to the boat by throwing in living baitfish, which they catch directly before the fishing trip in flats by snorkeling, using simple nets.
Skipjack tuna is a fish species migrating long distances in the Indian ocean and other seas, and it is fished by many countries in very different ways and circumstances. Therefore, the Naturland "Wildlfish" certification is dealing with the exemplary sustainable character of this fishery, without making claims about skipjack tuna fisheries in other areas and by other methods.
On 22nd June 2011, an expert meeting was held on the island of Felivaru, producing the first draft of specific certification standards for Maldivian skipjack tuna fishery.
In October 2011, the institute for market ecology (IMO, Switzerland) carried out the first audit. The audit report is available for download on this page.
Naturland Standards for Sustainable Capture Fishery request publication of the relevant parts of the inspection report, at least four weeks before the decision of Naturland Certification Committee about certification of the fishery project and/or conditions the certification is subjected to.
The publication shall enable a wider range of interested organisations, experts and private persons to comment on the information in the inspection report or - if the own state of insight should stand for it - take a critical position.
Naturland is grateful for such input, which we will - if required - treat as confidential. Nevertheless, we are not able to take into account anonymous tips etc.. We would kindly ask you to contact us in writing per 
Email.
