[3] The abundant sea harvest of the Indian Ocean around the atolls of the Maldives and Lakshadweep in India yields many pelagic fishes, like skipjack, yellowfin tuna, little tunny (known locally as laṭṭi) and frigate mackerel.
[4] On a good night, given a large shoal of bonito, the fishermen, using simple bamboo poles, catch about 600–1,000 fish in two to three hours, an average of one a minute.
[1] Maldives fish is widely used in Maldivian cuisine in dishes such as curries, mas huni, gulha and bōkiba.
Many Sri Lankan dishes, especially vegetable curries, also include Maldives fish, which acts as a thickening, flavouring and protein component.
Maldives fish is used in a number of Sri Lankan dishes, sometimes retaining its strong flavor as the main ingredient, like in sini sambal, which keeps indefinitely stored in an airtight jar.
Maas Podichathu is a dish is made of mass min or dried tuna , cut into small pieces and mixed with coconut, turmeric powder, onions and garlic.