With around 90,000 km² and 26 atolls containing over 1,000 islands, the Maldives represents not only a holiday destination but also a critical sanctuary and habitat for sharks. In 2010, the Maldivian government placed shark populations within the country's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ, 200 nautical miles) under complete protection. Since then, shark fishing and the trade in shark products have been prohibited on the Maldives — in theory.
However, a closer inspection reveals that sharks have continued to be caught and killed in the Maldives to this day. The local longline fishery for yellowfin tuna, which is permitted beyond a distance of 100 nautical miles from the islands, has recorded sharks as bycatch for years. According to the "Maldives National Report 2015" submitted to the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC), approximately two-thirds of these sharks are discarded back into the ocean alive. In 2014, the remaining sharks did not survive the ordeal on the longlines and were returned to the sea dead. This accounts for around 1,600 tonnes, including species listed in CITES Appendix II such as the thresher shark, mako shark, and oceanic whitetip shark. Whether the situation for sharks within the Maldivian longline industry has changed since then cannot be verified, although reports suggest the contrary. Longline fishing remains one of the most unselective and destructive fishing methods utilized globally, including in the waters surrounding the Maldives.
Nevertheless, the Maldivian Minister of Fisheries, Zaha Waheed, is now planning to legally reopen a portion of the shark stocks to fishing.
According to the Minister, a "managed fishery" is planned, which allegedly will not deplete the shark populations in Maldivian waters. Such fisheries operate with specific timeframes and quotas. ElasmOcean doubts whether this is enforceable in the Maldives. Easing the ban opens the floodgates to illegal fishing — and facilitates shark finning.
A primary driver for this measure is likely the collapse of the Maldives' main source of income due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, with tourism having come to a near-complete standstill. If fishers can no longer generate income through resorts and tourism activities, they are often left with only one alternative: the exploitation of the ocean. The prices for shark fins on the Asian market remain too lucrative for a resumption of the trade not to be considered.
ElasmOcean opposes these plans and demands that sharks continue to receive the highest level of protection possible in Maldivian waters.
We are therefore supporting a petition on change.org against the Maldivian plans: https://www.change.org/p/president-of-maldives-ban-shark-fishing-initiative-presented-by-minister-zaha-waheed-maldives-fisheries <- SIGN NOW!
Source: http://www.fao.org/3/bf553e/bf553e.pdf.
Photo: Hannes Klostermann
