“Jump & Pole Fishing” — Catching Live Tuna in the Atlantic by Hand
The Archipelago of the Azores is made up of nine islands of volcanic origin and is located in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, in the Atlantic Ocean, between the American and European continents. The Azores have many economic activities, being farming and fishing two of the most important ones.
Tuna fishing is a well known activity in the Azores and thanks to that there are a lot of tuna around: dishes, sandwiches, patés, and many other uses of it. But what is really interesting is the way that fishermen catch the Tuna from the Atlantic Ocean: by hand.
Yes, you read it right. In the middle of the Atlantic, there are a bunch of crazy fishermen that sail to sea in search of the best tuna to catch with just a pole and a line. One by one. By hand. This is known as the “Jump and Pole” fishing technique.
The Jump & Pole Fishing Technique
This fishing method is called this way due to the procedures it is based on and because it uses small living pelagic fish as bait (mackerel, horse mackerel, sardines and others). As the name implies, it involves a pole, which varies in size and shape, and the jumping technique, which consists in pulling the fish on board with a single movement, making it jump. Of course, this maneuver is more difficult the larger the size of the fish.
It is an active and dynamic fishing that looks for the shoals of tuna on the surface of the sea, attracting them to the vessel using live bait. There are two extremely important factors in this type of fishing: the great voracity that tuna fish have when they are feeding, sometimes leading to frenzy behaviors; and the ability that the fisherman has to elude tuna, luring it to his hook.
The ecological importance of Jump and Pole Fishing
Tuna fishing using the Jump and Pole technique and live bait is part of the social and cultural heritage of the Azores. At a time when the international community is concerned with the use of too intensive and non-selective fishing arts such as drift nets and seines, tuna fishing using Jump and Pole and live bait should be recognized as a highly selective type of fishing and “friend” of the environment, as it has no side-catches.
The fact that the fishing arts used in the Azores are easily maneuvered and controlled by fishermen (example: one man = 1 pole = 1 line = 1 hook) allowing for the capture of just one individual at a time is the main reason for this success in selectivity. Given the simple nature of the gear used, the fisherman can select the fish, therefore avoiding capturing younger fish or non commercial species, or species that are important for the conservation of nature.
As an appreciation and ecological recognition of this fishing technique, non-governmental organization “Earth Island Institute” certifies, since 1998, through an Observation Program for the Fisheries of the Azores (POPA), the tuna fishing in the Azores as being “Dolphin Safe”. Recently the same institution certified the same fishery as one of the first in the world to comply with all the criteria for FOS “Friend of the Sea” certification.
Santa Catarina Preserves
The Azorean tuna factory “Santa Catarina” has longe since preserved this fishing technique and produces one of the best tuna preserves you can taste.
From natural to biological olive oil flitch or fillet, the truth is the flavor speaks for itself: there are tuna with sauce, curry, thyme, sweet potato, oregano, piri-piri, fennel, azorean pepper, rosemary, basil, pennyroyal, ginger, four peppers, and many other types of preserves.
One can simply taste the tuna directly from the can, with a slice of bread for the oil and spices that cover the tuna. There are even patés (with and without oregano) that are perfect for a midday snack with a slice of Azorean cheese and a glass of a wonderful chilled verdelho wine, to experience the best flavors in life.
You can buy a great variety of Santa Catarina tuna preserves and other products from Azores at www.madeinazores.eu — the taste of the Azores just a click away.
Azorean products are grown with sustainable and environmental friendly practices — whether in fishing, farming or food processing. Don’t forget to checkout our online store www.madeinazores.eu
where the excellence of the Azorean products is only a click away.
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