My most recent purchase was Corey Arnold’s Fish Work book.

It arrived the other day and let me tell you, this book is why I will always love a beautifully produced book over anything digital.

Here are five things I simply love about this book:

1. It is big, measuring a glorious 15 x 12 inches. This means big, beautiful full page horizontal photos.

2. This book is all about the photos. The design is so wonderfully simple that you don’t even notice it (& that’s how it should be).

3. The binding and print quality is outstanding.

4. The subject matter is just so…different. To say they are just fishing photos is akin to saying photography is just pushing a button on a camera. Corey takes you deep into the Bering Sea fishing experience, to produce a book that is as much about the environment and landscape, as it is about the fishing process.

5. The book cover is just a photo. Not a single letter of text. Then again, when the cover looks like this (photo below), who wouldn’t want to open the book and find out what it is all about?

I sure did.

Transparency: I do not receive any remuneration or in-kind payment for this post. I wrote it because I love this book. I hope you do to. Book photo was taken from Corey Arnold’s blog.

Fish Work – Buy the Book

Fish Work Book – Sneak Peek

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Pole & Line Fishing Feature in Issue One of Island Aviation Vara Magazine Maldives.

Vara is the new in-flight magazine of Island Aviation in the Maldives. I’m happy to say I have a 6-page feature article in the very first issue on pole and line fishing in the Maldives. Thanks to my editor and the graphic design team for an aesthetic layout and a great double page opening spread. Love it!

The magazine should be hitting the back seat of Island Aviation planes this week or early next week.

This photo and many others can by licensed via my stock library at this link – Maldives Commercial Tuna Fishing | Thomas Pickard Stock Archive

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It was 6-months before I managed to get myself onto a commercial fishing boat. I had taken a regional flight from the capital Male’ to Addu Atoll, the southern most atoll in the country. I met Ahmed Zahid – a friend-of-a-friend – who knew some fishing captains. Not long after I found myself boarding a 30-metre super dhoni (traditional Maldivian vessel), along with 15 or so Maldivian commercial fishermen, all of them strangers.

For the next 24-hours I drank endless cups of Nescafe 3-in-1 (think the sweetest, strongest instant coffee you can find), I slept on damp decks with fish smelling nets as pillows and I dealt with constant nausea from the open ocean swells. In between, I shot 600 plus frames of the fishermen doing what they do.

That day I learnt that even some of the tallest stories can be true.

It was true that fishermen use a barbless hook and they literally hook and flick the tuna onto the back deck of the dhoni. It was also true that they can catch tons of tuna in just one day. This trip alone, the crew pulled aboard 7-tonnnes of Skipjack Tuna.

I successfully sold this story (photos and words) to Sri Lankan Airlines Magazine Serendib, which was subsequently published in the November/December 2006 issue.

In my next installment I’ll recount my second commercial fishing trip, which lasted 5-days. The first, second and fifth image are available for licensing via Aurora Photos. Just double click on the image to license.

Commercial fishermen searching for bait fish at night in a lagoon, Addu (Seenu) Atoll, Maldives, on the 6 June 2006. Commercial fishing in the Maldives is the second largest employer after the tourism industry. The main fishing industry is centered on pole and line fishing for Skip Jack Tuna and hand line fishing for Yellowfin Tuna. The Maldives is a major exporter of tuna to European and Asian markets.

Commercial fishermen sleeping on the back deck of a commercial fishing dhoni (traditional Maldivian boat), off the coast of Addu (Seenu) Atoll, Indian Ocean, Maldives, on the 6th of June 2006

Commercial fisherman sleeping on the back deck of a commercial fishing dhoni (traditional Maldivian boat), off the coast of Addu (Seenu) Atoll, Indian Ocean, Maldives, on the 6th of June 2006

Commercial fishermen pulling aboard a Skip Jack tuna on a commercial fishing dhoni (traditional Maldivian boat), off the coast of Addu (Seenu) Atoll, Indian Ocean, Maldives, on the 6th of June 2006

A commercial fisherman pulling aboard a Skip Jack tuna on a commercial fishing dhoni (traditional Maldivian boat), off the coast of Addu (Seenu) Atoll, Indian Ocean, Maldives, on the 6th of June 2006

Commercial fishermen getting ready to unload Skip Jack Tuna to a processing vessel, Addu (Seenu) Atoll, Maldives, on the 6th of June 2006

Commercial fishermen getting ready to unload Skip Jack Tuna to a processing vessel, Addu (Seenu) Atoll, Maldives, on the 6th of June 2006

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Having spent some time with the commercial fishermen in this country, I can only say one thing: I sure wouldn’t want to be a tuna in this country!

Fisherman unloading Skipjack Tuna, Male', Maldives.

Skipjack tuna covered in a fishing net, Male', Maldives.

Skipjack Tuna detail, Male', Maldives.

I have a pretty full schedule, but I will do my best to post regular updates.

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