Back on the Commercial Fishing Boats, Maldives

During my two year stay in the Maldives, I spent a total of 6-days on commercial fishing vessels. During that time I learnt first hand what life is like for commercial fishermen. I also gained a valuable insight into the fishing industry and how important two species of tuna – Skipjack and Yellowfin – are to the Maldives’ economy.

Photography on commercial fishing vessels is probably the hardest thing I have had to shoot. In no particular order, here is a list of challenges I have faced while onboard commercial fishing vessels in the Maldives:

Lack of Sleep

Commercial fishermen are masters at cat napping. Getting 90-minutes to two hours of sleep between fishing action is pretty common. You sleep on the deck where ever there is space.

Sea Sickness

Generally speaking, I travel well on open ocean vessels. However I do experience some nausea during the first day or two at sea.

A Dangerous Work Environment

Photography comes second to safety when I am on a commercial fishing vessel. Rule number one is to look after myself. Rule number two is don’t endanger the safety of any of the fishermen onboard.

The reality is, you are on a large, wide deck with no railings and there are open hatches – complete with 6-foot drops – all over the place. If that wasn’t enough, decks are often slippery and when the fishing starts the deck becomes the work area for up to 20-men, depending on how many crew are on board.

Getting Hit by a Flying Tuna

Sounds pretty funny, but the reality with pole and line fishing is that tuna once hooked, literally fly out of the water and onto the back deck.

The drop zone is clear of men when the fishing is going, but having said that I watched a 6-9 kilogram tuna fly over my head last week and land in the bait hatch. That was a distance of 18-metres (60-feet) from the back deck where the fisherman was. To get hit by a tuna that size is no laughing matter.

Technical Photography

Photographically it is tough because you are half asleep and having to deal with all sorts of shooting conditions. It can be pitch dark; it can be raining; the action can be happening incredibly fast; the light changes with the position of the vessel, so getting consistent manual exposures is difficult and of course, the vessel is continuously moving around, so composition is tough too.

Despite these challenges, I love it. I really do.

I love seeing the darkness of night slip away to reveal a new day. I love the early morning and the magical light you get for just a few minutes. I love the split second action and the sheer challenge of producing good visuals. Most of all, I love those moments when everything is quite on the vessel and you can just sit back and experience the many moods of the ocean.

While I’m still editing my work from my two days shooting last week, here are two that I like.

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