Pole and Line Fishing Foundation created

Foundation created to help pole-and-line fisheries
Fishing Information Service
Tuesday, April 03, 2012,

The not-for-profit International Pole & Line Foundation (IPNLF) was founded
to help pole-and-line fisheries increase the market share of their product
without compromising the sustainability of the fisheries. The group will
also offer support for fishing communities who are heavily reliant upon
these stocks.

Despite being considered the most sustainable method of catching tuna, most
pole-and-line fisheries are small-scale and find it difficult to get by in
an industry dominated by heavy industrial fishing. Fishers have seen their
local resources shrink and their livelihoods suffer in recent years.

IPNLF believes these fisheries can be rehabilitated and entire fishing
communities strengthened by increasing the market potential of their tuna
caught using the traditional pole-and-line method and a minor capital
investment.

“The global market demand for pole-and-line caught tuna is soaring as a
direct result of environmental organisations increasing consumer awareness
of sustainability issues,” Andrew Bassford, IPNLF co-founder, said.
“Unfortunately, many small fisheries often lack the knowledge and
infrastructure to gain access to the global market. Therefore, adequate
co-ordination of the market development of sustainable and equitable
pole-and-line tuna is not just an opportunity, it has now become a
necessity.

He said IPNLF will bridge the gap between demand and supply and all revenue
generated will directly go to research and capacity-building.

It wants to start with the Maldives and Indonesia – two extremely important
tuna producing regions — and has already opened a branch office in the
Maldives and another one will be opened in Indonesia in 2013. It will then
expand its work to Brazil, Ghana, Japan, Mexico, Mozambique, Philippines,
Senegal, India, the US, southern Europe and small island states in the
Pacific.

The Foundation expects the demand for pole-and-line tuna will continue to
develop and mainly come from the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, France,
Switzerland, Austria, Nordic countries and increasingly Australia, New
Zealand, Japan and North America.

Brands and retailers supporting IPNLF and pole-and-line fishing will be able
to better manage their brand security and development by gaining access to
these sustainable tuna resources. IPNLF will help these commercial
stakeholders work together with these regions and fishing communities on
establishing a product that meets consumer requirements.

“It’s a sad fact that our pole-and-line fishermen’s livelihoods are at risk
but the International Pole & Line Foundation has identified ways in which we
can add value to our traditional catch,” Dr Shiham Adam, the Director
General of the Marine Research Centre in the Maldives and one of the
founding members of the IPNLF, said. “Having one of the Foundation’s offices
here in the Maldives has already given our fishermen and the industry a big
lift. There is a lot of work to be done but at last there is hope that
long-term viability of our traditional method of fishing can be achieved.”

By Natalia Real
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com

w foundation created to help pole-and-line fisheries
Fishing Information Service
Tuesday, April 03, 2012,

The not-for-profit International Pole & Line Foundation (IPNLF) was founded
to help pole-and-line fisheries increase the market share of their product
without compromising the sustainability of the fisheries. The group will
also offer support for fishing communities who are heavily reliant upon
these stocks.

Despite being considered the most sustainable method of catching tuna, most
pole-and-line fisheries are small-scale and find it difficult to get by in
an industry dominated by heavy industrial fishing. Fishers have seen their
local resources shrink and their livelihoods suffer in recent years.

IPNLF believes these fisheries can be rehabilitated and entire fishing
communities strengthened by increasing the market potential of their tuna
caught using the traditional pole-and-line method and a minor capital
investment.

“The global market demand for pole-and-line caught tuna is soaring as a
direct result of environmental organisations increasing consumer awareness
of sustainability issues,” Andrew Bassford, IPNLF co-founder, said.
“Unfortunately, many small fisheries often lack the knowledge and
infrastructure to gain access to the global market. Therefore, adequate
co-ordination of the market development of sustainable and equitable
pole-and-line tuna is not just an opportunity, it has now become a
necessity.

He said IPNLF will bridge the gap between demand and supply and all revenue
generated will directly go to research and capacity-building.

It wants to start with the Maldives and Indonesia – two extremely important
tuna producing regions — and has already opened a branch office in the
Maldives and another one will be opened in Indonesia in 2013. It will then
expand its work to Brazil, Ghana, Japan, Mexico, Mozambique, Philippines,
Senegal, India, the US, southern Europe and small island states in the
Pacific.

The Foundation expects the demand for pole-and-line tuna will continue to
develop and mainly come from the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, France,
Switzerland, Austria, Nordic countries and increasingly Australia, New
Zealand, Japan and North America.

Brands and retailers supporting IPNLF and pole-and-line fishing will be able
to better manage their brand security and development by gaining access to
these sustainable tuna resources. IPNLF will help these commercial
stakeholders work together with these regions and fishing communities on
establishing a product that meets consumer requirements.

“It’s a sad fact that our pole-and-line fishermen’s livelihoods are at risk
but the International Pole & Line Foundation has identified ways in which we
can add value to our traditional catch,” Dr Shiham Adam, the Director
General of the Marine Research Centre in the Maldives and one of the
founding members of the IPNLF, said. “Having one of the Foundation’s offices
here in the Maldives has already given our fishermen and the industry a big
lift. There is a lot of work to be done but at last there is hope that
long-term viability of our traditional method of fishing can be achieved.”

By Natalia Real
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com