Longline fishing will be monitored, won't allow illegal shark trade: Ministry

Ministry of Fisheries and Ocean Resources of Maldives yesterday assured that longline fishing will be allowed in the country after strong mechanisms are put in place to monitor the activity and that there would be no opportunity to catch and carry out illegal trade of sharks within the process.

While the cabinet has already decided to allow longline fishing in the country with a special focus on yellow fin and big-eyed tuna as well as swordfish, with a regulation also formulated to the effect, several organisations have expressed concern over the decision and its impact on the environment.

The biggest concern raised by these organisations is that setline fishing would increase other endangered species and sharks becoming "by catch" of the process.

This is underscored by the government's decision to allow the processing and export of sharks accidentally caught and killed while using setlines.

In a joint statement issued, the organisations stressed that allowing sharks to be caught and processed as an additional byproduct would lead to the creation and strengthening of a market for sharks, weakening Maldives' role in global shark conservation.

Fisheries Ministry held a meeting yesterday, and said that they have submitted a budget to increase the ministry's capacity regarding longline fishing, and that their compliance capacity has already expanded significantly.

"We have the capacity to monitor about 30 vessels going into longline fishing. If the number increases, we'll have to increase [our] capacity [as well]. We have been informed that the necessary budget will be supplemented," an official from the Ministry told Mihaaru News.

The ministry further said that the processing of sharks caught as bycatch will only be allowed in a controlled amount, and assured that sharks brought in for processing will be monitored.

According to the ministry, sharks being caught as bycatch would only account for three percent of the total catch. They also assured that measures would be put in place to prevent shark catching or illegal shark poaching.

As the current regulations stand, the government will be allowing vessels which meet a certain criteria to use setlines. This includes the boats being required to be equipped with a vessel locating device and an electronic monitoring system to allow proper monitoring of the its activities.

The ministry said that these devices would allow them to monitor the vessel's routes and fishing spots in real time.

Another requirement for these vessels, according to the ministry, is to have cameras set up showing a clear view of the boat deck, to allow monitoring of any illegal activities onboard.

The regulations outline the repercussions of any violations when out longlining.

"We'll be 100 per cent sure of the track of the vessel. We'll know whether the vessel is harbouring in any islands when entering the atolls. We'll also know whether the catch is transferred to another vessel on the way. We'll know if any operations take place on the boat deck," the ministry said.

Although longline fishing was previously practiced in the Maldives, a European Union (EU) audit found illegal fish transfers from one vessel to another, which landed the government a warning. Previous governments put a stop to longline fishing following these warnings.

At the time, there were allegations of illegal shark catching and poaching, as well as the export of shark fins.

As a remedy this time, the ministry is mandating that sharks taken ashore as bycatch for processing must have their fins intact. The Ministry also emphasized that certain shark species would not be permitted for processing, and any sharks found alive when brought aboard a vessel must be released immediately.

The regulations also recommend using specialised equipment to cut the hooks and line as close to the shark's mouth as possible before releasing them.

The ministry also disallows the use of wires while using setlines, to reduce the number of bycatch in the process.

At the meeting, the Fisheries Ministry further clarified that longline fishing would be permitted only outside the common yellowfin tuna catching area, which extends approximately 100 miles beyond the Maldivian archipelagic baseline. Longlining would also be allowed in international waters, or the 'high seas,' beyond Maldivian waters.

The government believes that this would prevent harm to the sharks which are active in the shallower parts of the Maldivian waters.

The ministry noted that the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission has allocated an annual catch quota of 47,000 tonnes of yellowfin tuna to the Maldives. However, local reports indicate that over the past few years, local fishing vessels have averaged around 30,000 tonnes per year. The quota for bigeye tuna, by contrast, is significantly lower, set at just 2,000 tonnes per year.

Since the country has not been able to meet the set quota, the ministry believes there is a chance that the quota may be reduced, and highlighted that conversations have taken place in that direction. They also said that the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission sets these quotas with a focus on marine conservation and sustainable fishing practices. Therefore, the ministry assured that catching fish to meet the quota would not have an adverse impact on the environment.

The government also said that of the 47,000-tonne quota, only 17,000 tonnes would be allocated for longline fishing. These quotas would need to be purchased by the vessels, with eligibility limited to local fishing vessels.

Organisations' concerns on shark bycatch processing

The statement issued by NGOs emphasized that longline fishing has one of the highest bycatch rates among fishing methods, posing a significant threat to environmentally important species, particularly those with long lifespans, such as sharks, turtles, dolphins, and whales.

The organizations warned that allowing longline fishing would be a significant obstacle to maintaining the populations of non-target species, given their high mortality rates and the difficulty in reducing these rates. They stressed that the impact on species such as sharks, turtles, dolphins, and whales could be particularly severe.

Studies have shown that fishing with setlines has unsustainably high bycatch rates and mortality rates for sharks, which, even if released after extraction, would further disrupt the already endangered species population, the organisations added.

The organisations say that:

- Sharks are species with long lifespans that reproduce later in life and produce a small number of offspring. This makes them particularly vulnerable to overfishing, with about 60-70 percent of shark and ray species currently facing endangerment.

- Allowing the processing of sharks caught as "bycatch" will make it financially viable to catch sharks and create a demand for it, thereby encouraging overfishing.

- Efforts to maintain shark populations in Maldivian waters between the 1990s and 2000s when longlining was allowed, was incredibly unsuccessful, creating an environment for boom and bust fisheries.

NGOs say the ministry lacks monitoring capacity

A total of 18 environmental organisations issued a statement expressing their concern, in which they expressed that although longline fishing will be allowed 100 miles off the country's archipelagic baseline and even out of the EEZ, monitoring such a vast area would be challenging when considering human and financial resources.

In the global context, fishermen often report all shark bycatch as already dead when brought aboard, necessitating resources to verify the condition of the sharks at the time they were pulled up, the organizations said. However, they questioned whether authorities have the necessary facilities to conduct these verifications.

The organizations also expressed doubts about whether the Maldives has the capacity to effectively monitor and ensure compliance. They highlighted that patrolling, inspecting, and enforcing regulations would require sufficient funds, human resources, and a dedicated regulatory body, questioning whether the Maldives possesses these capabilities.

It was noted that while technologies such as Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS) and satellite tracking can aid in implementation, they require substantial investment, technical expertise, and infrastructure. The organizations pointed out that the necessary resources and technical expertise for these technologies are currently lacking in the Maldives.