"Fishing is the future of our country" - ROLAND Natua Cpatain of the finshing vessel Vini Vini X
Can you introduce yourself in a few words?
My name is NATUA Roland, I am the captain of Vin Vini X. I am 50 years old and I am from Tikehau. I came to Tahiti for my high school studies. I joined Pacific Tuna (Vini Vini) in 1998, until 2007 then I took a year off before coming back to the company because I had a family problem.
Do you think you are well equipped to go on a fishing campaign?
The VVX is well equipped. But I made some changes, because the boat is coming out of the hold: there are also the captain's improvements to be made because he is the one working on it. With Yann’s agreement of course.
Do you think you are well surrounded by the shore team in the event of a problem at sea?
We stay in touch every day. They send us emails every day, especially regarding the position of the company's vessels. If there is a problem, we have the satellite phone. We call if we need parts or if there is a patient to drop off. There is good communication between our boats and the shore team. It's reassuring to know that you have satellite tracking. Then at the same time, they also send us information. For example, if there are foreign ships concentrated in one place, we can't tell but the shore team can. So they send us the information to tell us that there is a fishing area there because there is a concentration of foreign boats outside.
What is good with VINI VINI, we already made our list of problems that we have on the boat. We are already sending the information to the people in charge of the weapon, who will prepare the parts to be changed and repaired as soon as we arrive. So when we get to the dock, we unload the fish, we clean the boat and the shore crew take over, allowing us to rest and quickly return to our family until the next day of departure.
What are the available communication system you have ?
We have the radio. In general, between boat we always have the radio. If we can't get the boat we want to have, we have the satellite phone with which we can call whoever we want. Whether on land or at sea.
So that also allows you to contact your family?
Exactly. Besides, that's why I've been in fishing for a long time. My family is always there with me, I call them quite often when I am at sea.
Are you free in your choice of food for your campaigns ?
We are free to manage our food. We get a check and it's up to us to see what we take. We eat well at sea, it's like eating on land. What we eat on land, we eat at sea. When it is birthdays or holidays that we spend at sea, we do not deprive ourselves. We are quite free on that side.
How do you manage when you happen to accidentally fish for protected species?
It is very rare to catch them. In my 30-year career, you could say that I have had 3. Already it's accidental. And long line fishing is targeted fishing. We target fish species such as swordfish, mahi mahi and only adult fish. It is rare that we have protected species, but when they do, we release them.