Ministry of Fisheries affirm that no deliberations were held to permit shark fishing in the country's waters, assuring that the government has no intention to permit it.
Ministry of Fisheries and Ocean Resources has declared today that they have no intention of permitting shark fishing within Maldivian waters.
Addressing rumors circulating on social media that permits for shark fishing are going to be issued, Deputy Minister of Fisheries and Ocean Resources Ahmed Shafiu stated that if the number of sharks are found to rise in the country following studies into the matter, a solution will be proposed. However, he assured that no deliberations have been held thus far to permit shark fishing in the country.
"It is prohibited by law. The Ministry has no mindset to change the law and permit shark fishing. No discussions were held on the matter," said Shafiu.
He said that a research is being conducted in collaboration with Maldives Marine Research Institute to assess the shark population in the country.
Elaborating further on the research, Deputy Minister of Fisheries and Ocean Resources, Mohamed Yameen explained that the necessary solutions to tackle the shark overpopulation problem will be identified based on the findings of the research.
Meanwhile, several concerns have been raised on the growing shark population which has recently begun posing challenges for fishermen. MRC had conducted a research on the matter three years ago, which found that the shark population has grown at escalating numbers since the ban enforced over shark fishing in Maldivian waters.
In light of the research, Fisheries Ministry attributed the soaring number of shark attacks to increased feeding of sharks in certain locations, further stressing that such conduct is not permitted by the Ministry.
Civilians have been calling to permit shark fishing following the death of a young MNDF officer who was attacked by a shark while on an ocean training course in Laamu Atoll Kahdhoo.
Commercial shark fishing was reportedly begun in Maldives over a wide-scale in 1970 up until 2010 with income generated from the sale of shark tails, oil and other such related products. However, shark fishing was banned in the country following concerns that the species may go extinct after a great decline in shark population was observed.
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