Fishing industry in the Maldives
C/m²/day[2] | |
Shelf area | 35,000 km2 (14,000 sq mi)[2] |
---|---|
Land area | 300 km2 (120 sq mi)[1] |
Employment | Full-time: 22,000 (1996)[3] Part-time: 5,000 (1996)[3] |
Fishing fleet | 1,674 vessels, nearly all motorised (1995)[3] |
Export value | US$ 56 million (1997) [3] |
Import value | nil |
Harvest | |
Wild marine | 184,158 tonnes (202,999 tons) (2006)[4] |
Aquaculture total | nil |
The fishing industry in the Maldives is the island's second main industry. According to national tradition in the words of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, "Fishing is the lifeblood of our nation, it is inborn. From the soil on which we live, to the sea around us, it remains an integral part of our existence. Fishing, and our country and its people, [are] one and shall remain inseparable forever."[5] The Maldives has an abundance of aquatic life and species of fish. Common are
The
History
Fishing has long been the life blood of the Maldivian economy.[5] Today it still employs half the Maldivian workforce. Formerly, Maldives shipped 90 percent of its fishing catch of tuna in dried form to Sri Lanka.[6] However, because Sri Lanka cut back its imports of such fish, in 1979 Maldives joined with the Japanese Marubeni Corporation to form the Maldives Nippon Corporation that canned and processed fresh fish.[6] Also in 1979 the Maldivian government created the Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company.[6] This company controls the processing and exporting of frozen and canned tuna. They also provide a collector vessel. All fishing is undertaken by the private sector and its involvement in processing and export is increasing.[3]
Progress has also been made as a result of fisheries development projects undertaken by the World Bank. Harbour and refrigeration facilities have been improved, leading to a fourfold increase in earnings from canned fish between 1983 and 1985.[6] Further construction of fisheries refrigeration installations and related facilities such as collector vessels were underway in 1994, with funding both from Japan and the World Bank.
The tiny, low-lying islands have an average elevation of a few feet above sea level. The highest elevation of any island is not more than three and a half meters.[7] Although the Maldives were in the direct path of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, little permanent damage resulted to the coral beds and fishing grounds.[8]
The mainstays of the Maldives economy are its fisheries and tourism. Both are intrinsically related to the coral reefs.[9] The fisheries were the dominant sector of the economy until 1985, when the tourism industry overtook the fisheries in terms of its contribution to GDP. However fisheries continue to provide an important source of income for about 20 percent of the population, with about 22,000 individuals involved in full-time fishing activities.[3]
Statistics
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Value of catch by gear used | |
Value of catch by species | |
Mean tropic level | |
Primary production | |
Primary production used |
The following table shows the total volume of aquatic species caught in the Maldives, as reported by the FAO,[4] for all commercial, industrial, recreational and subsistence purposes.
Total catch | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | 1960 | 1970 | 1980 | 1990 | 2000 | 2006 |
Tonnes | 13,000 | 37,273 | 38,624 | 78,733 | 118,963 | 184,158 |
Fisheries data in tons wet weight[3] | |||||
1996 | Production | Imports | Exports | Food supply | Per capita kg/year |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fish for direct human consumption | 103,500 | nil | 57,200 | 46,300 | 176 |
Fish for animal feed etc. | 2,100 | 2,100 |
Almost half of the catch is consumed locally.[3]
EEZ
As with other countries, the Maldivian 200-nautical-mile (370 km) exclusive economic zone (EEZ) gives its fishing industry special fishing rights.[10] It covers about 900,000 square kilometres. This area, plus the inland areas, are the areas which the Maldives can, under international law, regard as its fishing grounds.
For most coastal countries, the EEZ roughly coincides with the continental shelf, the fishing rich area of relatively shallow water, less than 200 metres deep, that extends from most continental coastlines. The EEZ gives fishing and mineral rights to this shelf. In the case of the Madives, there is no continental shelf, since the Maldives are not part of a continent. The coral atoll equivalent of a continental shelf is the shallow coral floors surrounding the islands and within the coral basins and lagoons. The total land (not immersed) area of the islands is about 300 km2,[1] and the total coral shelf area is about 35,000 km2.[2]
This shelf area is large compared to the land area (120 times larger), but still small compared to deep ocean part of the Maldivian EEZ (30 times smaller).
There are four areas in the Maldives where fisheries can operate.
- Land areas: The islands in the Maldives are too small to have inland lakes and rivers, so there are no inland fisheries. Nor have there been any land based aquaculture activities to date.
- Coral lagoons: Many of the islands in the Maldives have subsided, leaving lagoons wholly or partially enclosed by a ring of coral (see diagrams below right). These lagoons teem with reef fish and other aquatic life.
- The outer coral shelf: which slopes away steeply, and does not offer as rich fishing grounds as the inner lagoons do.
- Deep ocean: which is by far the largest part of the Maldivian EEZ. This area is inhabited by pelagic fish, small schooling forage fish, sometimes called bait fish, and larger fish who prey on them, such as tuna and shark. By far, the greatest volume of catch in the Maldives comes from this area.
Bait fisheries
Different types of bait fishing are used in Maldives. Most common method is night time using lights.
Reef fisheries
Reef fisheries are
Larger commercial reef fish, such as medium to large
In terms of value, grouper have been the most significant component of the reef fishery. The grouper fishery has also come under pressure due to demand from local tourism and international markets. The grouper fishery has been sustainable so far, but there is very little potential for expansion under current practices, and a strict management regime is required.[9]
Exports of
Shark have been fished for centuries in the Maldives. The main groups of sharks caught in the Maldives are reef sharks, deep water gulper sharks and ocean sharks. The reef shark fishery generates more revenue for the fisheries and tourism than the other groups. Shark fisheries continue to be exploited, particularly for export purposes.[9]
The lobster fishery is mainly targeted for the local tourist industry.[9]
Other coastal resources such as cowrie and cuttlefish play a nominal role, and can be sustainably exploited at the present level. However, resources that can be cultured such as giant clams, sea cucumber, some species of aquarium fish, and turtles, have considerable potential.[9]
Pelagic fisheries
Pelagic fisheries are
The major fishery in the Maldives is the tuna fishery. The most important tuna species is the skipjack tuna, although they are coming under increasing pressure. Next most important, in terms of fish exports from the Maldives, is the large yellowfin tuna.[9]
The tuna are caught by the following methods:
However, an even more extensive and sustainable coastal resource is forage fish, such as anchovies and herring. This fishery is an integral part of the pole and line tuna fishery, since tuna feed on the forage fish. Future development of the traditional pole and line tuna fishery depends on the availability of this bait fishery. Catch rate for forage fish have increased greatly in recent years, but there is not enough data to really know what the current status of the forage fish stocks are.[9]
For
However a variety of different types of fishing are practised in the Maldives. Very popular is evening fishing just before the sunset.
Mariculture
Seaweed culture has been trialled with little success so far. Nonetheless, culture appears promising given the extensive reef areas which can provide suitable habitats. Culturing crabs in mangrove areas is also a possibility.[9]
Marketing
The capital of the Maldives,
Fishing fleet
The islands of the Maldives have an extensive
In 1995 there were 1,674 vessels, of which motorised vessels for coastal pole and line tuna fishing accounted for 1,407 vessels. Of the remainder, 5 were sailing dhoni (masdhoni), 48 were mechanised dhoni (vadhudhoni), 209 were vadhudhoni with sails, and 5 were rowing boats used to troll reef waters.[3]
Based on a US$3.2 million loan from the International Development Association(IDA), most of the boats were mechanized in the course of the 1980s.[6] Although the addition of motors increased fuel costs, it resulted in doubling the fishing catch between 1982 and 1985. Moreover, the 1992 catch of 82,000 tons set a record; for example, in 1987 the catch was 56,900 tons.[6]
The dhoni, which with its variants, makes up almost the entire fleet, is a small open boat traditionally built from coconut wood, although wood imported from Southeast Asia and fibreglass is increasingly used. Originally sailing craft, nowadays these boats are usually fitted with motors. The main site for building dhonis is in Alifushi Raa Atoll. This boat building is a traditional craft in the Maldives, and young apprentices are still trained by skilled craftsmen. Boats crafted from timber take about 60 days to complete.
Issues
Overfishing has occurred for
- Black corals - These were presumably once abundant on Maldivian reefs. Over the last two decades large quantities were removed, and they are now protected.[9]
- Giant clams - The giant clam fishery was very short-lived, lasting about a year from 1990. This exploitation of the giant clam was very destructive to the reefs and the government banned the fishery in 1991.[9]
- Turtles - Turtles have been exploited for local trade and consumption for hundreds of years.[14] They were further exploited to provide curios for the tourists. A moratorium on catching turtles has been in force since 1995.[9]
- Sea cucumbers - The most popular species of sea cucumbers have been overexploited, resulting in near collapse of the fishery in 1997.[9]
Outside aid programmes have initiated reef monitoring projects in the Maldives. However, monitoring has been discontinued when projects have finished, and little of this information has been used to inform decision-making. The Maldives needs to maintain continuity in monitoring, and coordinate its approach to managing its reefs.[15]
Prospects
Factors which have contributed to increasing catches of fish include an increasing number of mechanised and motorised boats, installation of
Future prospects are partly a matter of the quality of
See also
- Industries in Maldives
- Economic aid to Maldives
- Tourism in the Maldives
- Economy of the Maldives
Notes
- This article incorporates public domain text form the Library of Congress
- ^ Retrieved 4 February 2009.
- ^ Sea Around Us Project: Country EEZ: Maldives[permanent dead link]
- ^ Retrieved 4 February 2009.
- ^ . Retrieved 4 February 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Fishing in the Maldives". Maldives.com. Archived from the original on May 11, 2008. Retrieved February 4, 2009.
- ^ Washington D.C.Retrieved February 4, 2009.
- ^ Government of Maldives and United Nations Post-Tsunami Lessons Learned and Best Practices Workshop[permanent dead link] 2005.
- ^ "Assessment of Damage to Maldivian Coral Reefs and Baitfish Populations from the Indian Ocean Tsunam". Archived from the original on 2005-04-06. Retrieved 2009-02-06.
- ^
- ^ *United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea - Part V
- ^ a b Anderson, R. C.; Waheed Z.; Rasheed. M. and Arif, A. (1992) Reef Fish Resources Survey in the Maldives - Phase II FAO: Working paper: BOBP/WP/80.
- ^ "Fisheries reel in big catch from Gulf funds". The Business Report. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
- ^ a b c "Sailing and fishing in the Maldives". Ministry of Tourism of the Maldives. Retrieved February 4, 2009.
- ISBN 84-7254-801-5
- ^ Rajasuriya, A., K. Venkataraman, E.V. Muley, H. Zahir and B. Cattermoul (2002) Status of Coral Reefs in South Asia: Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Sri Lanka In: C.R. Wilkinson (ed.), Status of coral reefs of the world: 2002. GCRMN Report, Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville. Chapter 6, pp 101-121.
- ^ Marine Research Centre
References
- Anderson, R.C. and Ahmed, Hudha (1993) The Shark Fisheries of the Maldives FAO, Rome, Miscellaneous Publication: BOBP/MIS/7
- Haglund Heelas, A.M. (1994) Fisheries Extension Services in the Maldives FAO, Rome, Report BOBP/REP/62.
- Rome, Working paper: BOBP/WP/71.
- SAUP: Country profile
- Van Der Knaap MV, Waheed Z, Shareef S and Rasheed M (1990) Reef Fish Resources Survey in the Maldives FAO, Rome, Working paper: BOBP/WP/64.
External links
- Fishing at Maldives.com
- Sailing and fishing Archived 2017-11-08 at the Wayback Machine
- Fishing safety
- Marine Protected Areas in the Maldives
- www.reefbase.org search on Maldives