5 – 10 October 2009
N1 26.636 E125 10.854 – Bitung
Skip jacks - one of the many monuments in Bitung. The others are a mini Eiffel Tower and a cement bag monument. Go figure After intensive diving in Lembeh, it was again time to shift gears and swing to the other extreme of photographing fisheries. This time it was all about tuna.
Hafizh Adyas photographs skip jacks in Bitung auction market before sunrise 
Fisherman unloading their night's catch at the break of dawn We met the young Hafizh Adyas of WWF Indonesia in Bitung. With Hafizh’s guidance, excellent English, and charmingly sensitive people skills, we met some leading tuna exporters and fishermen from North Sulawesi.
Yellowfin tuna about to enter the processing plant of Nutrindo Fresfood International We visited the plant Nutrindo Fresfood International in Bitung managed by Pak Napsar, a generous man who shared with us his precious time, explained industry/fisheries practices and information, not to mention feeding us a mountain of sashimi at the end of our plant tour!
Pak Napsar grading yellowfin tuna for export quality 
This man, on a full 8 hour day, can cut open 400 yellowfin tunas for tuna loin processing and packing export to Japan 
A different uniform from our usual wetsuits, we have been priviledged to see the inside of a tuna processing plant. Behind us are tuna loins weighed for export We visited another plant, Chen Woo Fishery also in Bitung, for more of the same subject. Chen Woo supplies tuna to ANOVA – a Dutch company based in Bali and a WWF donor and partner in the tuna trade trying to lessen turtle by-catch in tuna fisheries. ANOVA through the help of WWF is introducing the use of circle hooks to longline fishermen (a mammoth task) thereby assuring environmentally friendly seafood products to a discerning market in the US and Japan.
Using handline fishing make dolphin and turtle safe tuna catch 
ANOVA boxes filled with tuna steak about to enter -25C freezer. This order is for export to Miami 
The Freund Factory along with observer RudyMasuswo Purwoko and Hafizh Adyas of WWF Indonesia pose for our WWF flag portrait with some of Chen Woo staff. To make everybody smile for the picture, Hafizh shouted "Say Tuna!"