That of one man's passion
One man’s passion of 50 years for fishing and the ocean
Great navigators since the dawn of time, Polynesians have a relationship of respect for the ocean and its resources.
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Located in the heart of the South Pacific, on the island of Tahiti in French Polynesia, the history of our company began fifty years ago, when Eugene Degage, the founder and current CEO, rose every day at sunrise and jumped aboard his small boat for a long day of fishing in the swells of the Pacific.
At that time, the fishing boats were called BONITIER. They were simple and powerful wooden boats made locally. They spent the day at sea with a captain and two sailors. The only instruments were the crew's eyes searching for offshore birds which indicate that fish are nearby.
The technique was to use long bamboo poles as fishing rods. The length depended on the type of fish they wanted to catch. The lures were shaped like small shiny silver fish, carved from the shell of mother-of-pearl.
On board, the fish were kept fresh under banana leaves regularly moistened with seawater.
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At sunset, the whole fish were sold directly to Polynesian families, who came especially to wait on the dock for the return of the BONITIER.
The new horizon 1980-1990.
After going to Hawaii to learn about modern fishing techniques, Mr DEGAGE was the first Polynesian to use the mono-filament long-liner, exclusively hook fishing method in the waters of French Polynesia.
Today.
Our fleet consists of 15 long liners regularly supplying fresh, top quality fish to our fish merchants and smoking operations . All our ships fly the French flag and have fishing licenses issued by the government of French Polynesia. Our crews have professional status strictly outlined by law. Fish health compliance controls are regularly exercised by the competent authorities when the ships return to port.
Our fishing grounds
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We fish in the Exclusive economic zone of French Polynesia. The fishing grounds are larger than those of Europe and are located in zone 77 on the FAO fishing map. In order to protect the resources , foreign vessels are prohibited, and only local fishing boats using hooks are allowed to fish in this area.
