The Northern Atolls of The Maldives

April 2nd 1999,  Naifaru Island/Faadhippolhu Atoll

  NANOU Achored outside of the Harbour

We are taking a break from diving for a couple of days of refueling and maintenance -- and  visiting Nazim's in-laws.

Nazim's Mom-in-law

Western Boats Are not common here.

Naifaru is the capital island of this Atoll and is a gem of simplicity and taste.  Most hoses are built using cement and coral - with wooden roofs or corrugated roofs. 

  Life on a corall island       Yes, but I had another camera hidden away...

The main activity here is fishing.  The government does not allow nets and so the fishermen have devised the most astounding long-pole technique.   The senior men expertly position their Dorie over a school of tuna and work them into a frenzy using live bait. 

        A transport Dorie            Fishing Boats At Rest

Up to 10 men will use bamboo poles with fishing line and barbless hooks to literlly pluck the tuna from the ocean and - with a swift motion of the shoulders - fling the tuna into the boat's hold by simply getting the hook to release in mid air.  The tuna literally fly through the air as the men flick their poles in and out of the water at great speed.  In this way they catch a few hundred tuna in a couple of hours.

Back at the island the tuna is cooked and dried or sold onto a tuna canning factory nearby.  The great thing about all this is that it is sustainable fishing.  No nets are used - only the target fish are caught.   Whilst these laws are upheld, overfishing is unlikely and the way of life of these remote fishing villages remains unthreatened - in sharp contrast to the Indonesian and Thai fishing villages I visited.

                                                       

                                            Boys fish from the Breakwater