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Facing its own blood and guts on the blue deck, a yellow fin tuna is dead on the floor of a dhoni boat in the Indian Ocean. After clubbing it death, fishermen from the Maldives have removed its respiratory organs with sharp knives and washes it down with a hose. Next it will be plunged into ice containers to cool the flesh, reducing the risk of self-deteriorating flushed blood which renders it unfit for consumption under EU law (its live internal core temperature is 40 degrees centigrade). When as many fish have been caught (often weighing 50kg) before dark using hand and line method, rather than nets, the boat presses on to the processing factory at Himmafushi where they're filleted and boxed for export to Europe and in particular, for UK supermarkets like Sainsbury's.

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Filename: maldives288-14-11-2007.jpg
Copyright: © Richard Baker. No copying, screen grabbing, transmission or publication without permission.
Image Size: 5315x3543 / 3.3MB; www.photoshelter.com/support/license; https://www.bakerpictures.com/contact; Richard Baker reportage photojournalism environmental issues economics economy financial finance health relationships social issues transportation work Maldives Indian Ocean Islamic Muslim Republic state country remote cultural fishing tuna yellow fin sea ocean trade business marine boat expedition trip navigation work force fishermen livelihood career job employees prospects expectation catch fisheries vessel sea-going ship dhoni at sea on-board crew voyage journey efficiency speed surface by sea commerce industry water Thunnus Albacares outlying fish aquatic seafood marine tropical blood gore organs entrails killing traditional spraying washing hose deck gills lungs inhumane cruelty slaughter cull fisherman line-caught dolphin-friendly gutting job wage salary career kill death wage workforce cleaning hygiene blood and guts killed dead line manual labour line caught fishery occupation Thunnus albacaraes Thunus albacaraes nutrition diet nutritional nutritious
Contained in galleries: The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work (large edit), Editorial

Facing its own blood and guts on the blue deck, a yellow fin tuna is dead on the floor of a dhoni boat in the Indian Ocean. After clubbing it death, fishermen from the Maldives have removed its respiratory organs with sharp knives and washes it down with a hose. Next it will be plunged into ice containers to cool the flesh, reducing the risk of self-deteriorating flushed blood which renders it unfit for consumption under EU law (its live internal core temperature is 40 degrees centigrade). When as many fish have been caught (often weighing 50kg) before dark using hand and line method, rather than nets, the boat presses on to the processing factory at Himmafushi where they're filleted and boxed for export to Europe and in particular, for UK supermarkets like Sainsbury's.