Jul 30 2008
Fishing bluefin tuna using fish trap in Sardinia
It was a pleasant surprise when some pictures from Sardinia dropped into my mailbox. The pictures were sent to me by Piero Addis and show fishermen from Sardinia (Italy) fishing bluefin tuna with the traditional fish trap called “tonnara”. This kind of fish trap is still in use in Sardinia although the decrease in the bluefin tuna stock has led to a decrease in the catches and number of fish traps. There are now only three fish traps left in Sardinia. One of them can be seen below.
The first two pictures show the “Mattanza”, the happening when the bluefin tuna is trapped in the last chamber of the tonnara. This has always been an important event for the fishermen in Sardinia.
The net is hauled and the bluefin tuna is forced to the surface where they will be landed into the vessels surrounding the chamber – also referred to as “the chamber of death”. The last years there has been a significant decrease in the average size of the fish caught in these traps. While swimming in the tonnara there are still some nice seized bluefin tuna to see.
What these silly people should realise is that their grandchildren will only see Bluefin tuna in old films and pictures. In earlier times these fish were harvested for communial food,——now its only for greed and money.
Well if “these silly people” is referring to the fishermen from Sardinia, they are not to blame for the decrease in the bluefin tuna stock. The fish traps in the Mediterranean Sea are passive gear representing a sustainable fishery that has been ongoing for hundreds of years. The problem is the large fleet of purse seiners and long liners. These fisheries are out of control, resulting in overfishing the quota every year. If this continues you are right; we will only see bluefin tuna in old films and pictures, like the Norwegian fishery for bluefin tuna.
Indeed I agree with the administrator comment, sometimes or we do not express ourselves properly or we aim to the wrong messenger.
The large fleets are the ones to blame for their greedy overfishing practices, the fishermens of Sardinia now and before practice a sustainable fishing system, as in the 50´s the bait boats or pole boats, replaced later for the bigger purse seiners.
Check here at: http://www.tunaseiners.com a collection of pictures of purseiners from the western and eastern pacific and also old baitboats movies
What a great post and wonderful pictures – thanks (to Piero Addis as well) for sharing!
I’m thinking of Norwegians as fishermen, but they do great in Sardinia too
hi wow so nice to have scuba diving. i love scuba diving too.
I have loved fishing since I was about 6. Just a few years ago I was introduced to scuba diving and to dive in a large school of any kind of fish would be a thrill I would remember forever.
It’s a pitty that I never have a chance to dive.