High Court rejects constitutional case against shark fishing regulations

Maldives High Court has decided not to accept a constitutional case filed to nullify the government's new regulations and management plan for gulper shark fishing. 

The case was submitted by environmental activists Humaidha Abdul Ghafoor and Mohamed Seeneen, who sought to overturn the rules introduced by the Ministry of Fisheries and Ocean Resources in October 2024. 

These rules effectively partially lifted a 15-year blanket ban on shark fishing that had been in place since 2010.

In its decision, the High Court Registrar clarified that for a matter to be considered a constitutional case, it must specifically challenge the validity of a law or a formal regulation. The court noted that the government's "Management Plan" for shark fishing does not fall under the definition of a law or regulation, making it not eligible for a constitutional challenge. 

Furthermore, while the plaintiffs argued that the new fishing regulation violates the Constitution and the Fisheries Act, the court found that the submission failed to adequately prove exactly how the regulation contradicts these legal frameworks.

The regulation in question allows for limited gulper shark fishery, restricted to a maximum of 40 licensed vessels and permitted only during a seven-month window from December to June each year. Despite these restrictions, the move has sparked significant backlash from the environmental community and the tourism sector. 

Environmental activists have expressed deep concern over the vulnerability of gulper sharks, a slow-growing, deep-sea species, and have gathered thousands of signatures on petitions urging the government to maintain the Maldives' status as a complete shark sanctuary to protect its ecological health and international reputation.