"Can't carry on, can't go out to fish": Maldives yellowfin industry fights for survival

The industrial action was organised under the banner of the Bodu Kanneli Masveringe Union (Union of Yellowfin Tuna Fishers). The protesters issued three major demands: the state-owned Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company to start purchasing yellowfin tuna, a minimum price to be set between MVR 80 to MVR 100 (US$ 6.5) per kilogram, and for the government to provide fuel subsidies.

All three were campaign pledges by President Dr Mohamed Muizzu. But after more than two years, the fishermen say the lack of progress forced them to take action.

Yellowfin tuna vessels typically undertake extended fishing trips, returning to shore only briefly to land their catch and rest. Fishermen do not lightly forgo a week's income. That more than 20 boats chose to remain idle for a week tells its own story, reflecting the gravity of the situation for these fishers.

The yellowfin tuna fishery is distinct from the skipjack tuna fishery, which accounts for the majority of the country's fishing fleet as well the bulk of fish exports. Both practice traditional, environment-friendly and sustainable one-by-one fishing techniques. Yellowfin tuna fishers use hand-lines as opposed to the pole-and-line method employed by skipjack tuna fishers. But the skipjack tuna sector receives the lion’s share of government investment and state support.

"This year's budget includes MVR 500 million for fishermen. But that is for pole-and-line tuna fishers, not for yellowfin tuna fishers," Mohamed Faiz, a boat captain from Faafu Nilandhoo who leads a crew of 17, told the Maldives Independent.

Many fishermen echoed this sense of unequal treatment, describing what they see as a persistent double standard.

"When the Maldivian state talks about fisheries, yellowfin tuna fishermen are not even part of the conversation. We are forgotten," said Mohamed Rasheed, known as Galy, the union's treasurer. "Even at the Fisheries Day ceremony, all that yellowfin tuna fishermen got were promises – 'we will do it, we will make it happen' (kohdeynan, kuraanan, vaane)."

This disparity was one of the reasons they formed a separate union for yellowfin tuna in 2020 to lobby on behalf of a sector they say was consistently sidelined.

"Fuel subsidy is also not something we get, but they get it. The pole-and-line tuna fishers who land their catch at Kooddoo and Felivaru get free ice too. They get fuel subsidies, too. We get none of that," said Faiz, the captain from Nilandhoo. 

Skipjack fishermen also benefit from multiple landing facilities operated by both MIFCO and private processors such as Horizon Fisheries. In contrast, yellowfin tuna fishermen have access to only a handful of private buyers, including Ensis, which operates in Hulhumalé, and Big Fish in Himmafushi.

"When fishing is productive, boats are waiting in Hulhumalé harbour with over 180 tons of yellowfin," Faiz said. Vessels might have to wait 15 to 20 days to sell their catch, during which time they must reload ice – sometimes more than once – to prevent spoilage, adding significantly to operating costs, he explained.

According to Galy, the union's treasurer, the protesters sacrificed a week's worth of fishing – which could easily rise up to MVR 200,000 per boat – because they believed that five or six private exporters have created an oligopoly that allows them to reduce purchasing prices with no consideration of global market rates.

"It gives them too much control to arbitrarily drop prices from MVR 85 to MVR 15 per kg," he said.

Some private companies owe more than MVR 12 million in payments that remain pending for three to four months, Galy said. He also pointed to brokers operating in Malé and Hulhumalé who supply resorts, making significant profits after purchasing fish at lower prices.

"We needed to protest to end this. We believe that if MIFCO enters the market and sets a floor price, it will stabilise prices and force private buyers to pay fairly," he said.

Another problem facing yellowfin tuna fishing boats is difficulty hiring locals.

"One of the main reasons is also that governments started offering political jobs to young people to do nothing and play PUBG on their phone and take home huge salaries of MVR 15,000 plus. At most they have to work eight hours but we work day and night," he argued, referring to the bloated workforces of state-owned enterprises such as Fenaka, which operates powerhouses on most inhabited islands. 

This was particularly noticeable around election cycles, Galy observed. Many boats lost crew in large numbers during the last parliamentary elections campaign, according to several fishermen who spoke to Maldives Independent.

SOEs employed more than 37,000 people as of March this year, up from 33,284 in early 2024. 

Setting off from the Kanneli Jetty in Hulhumalé, about 50 boats gathered outside Malé's No. 1 Jetty last Wednesday. A Coast Guard ship and police boats blocked the harbour channel, the main entrance point to the capital. 

On the following day, police officers were deployed to break up the unprecedented protest. Police boarded one vessel and forcibly arrested protest leaders and expatriate crew members working on several boats. They also took control of three boats, and steered the boats and crew to the nearby detention island Dhoonidhoo, where they were held for a few hours before being released.

A week after the protest began, more than 20 boats remained anchored near Malé, refusing to leave or resume fishing until their grievances were addressed.

On Monday, boat captains and union representatives held a five-hour meeting with Fisheries Minister Ahmed Shiyam. The minister requested two weeks to work on their demands, union representatives told the press. 

Despite the lack of concrete timelines or specific commitments, union members sounded cautiously optimistic after the meeting. The minister promised that MIFCO would start buying yellowfin in two weeks, Rasheed told the Maldives Independent.

"Overall I would say the meeting was very positive," the union's treasurer said.

"Even if we cannot get MVR 80 as promised, we are willing for MIFCO to at least start buying," he added. "The minister asked for two weeks because discussions are needed to make this sustainable, not just symbolic. [He said] he cannot simply order MIFCO to do it, so maybe that is where it is getting blocked."

Union leaders reiterated that their boats would remain in the Malé area and that the protest would continue until a solution was found. The prevailing slogan among the fishermen is "Dheneh Nuvaane, Dheneh Nufureyne" (Can't carry on, Can't go out to fish).

One immediate demand was met: the release of the detained protesters. Two boat captains, the vice president of the Tourism Employees Association of Maldives, and expatriate crew members held at the Hulhumalé detention centre were released on Wednesday morning, according to Rasheed.

Speaking at the Fisheries Day ceremony in Raa Dhuvaafaru on Saturday night, Fisheries Minister Shiyam announced that the construction of a new yellowfin tuna processing facility in Hulhumalé will begin in January.

"Yellowfin tuna fishermen asked the president for two, three things, it is in the president's manifesto as well," he said.

"Last week, a plot of land was allocated for the ministry to fulfil another pledge and do something that yellowfin tuna fishermen really want and we have got the permission to build on that land. I want to give the guarantee that with the direction of the president, we are making all arrangements to start building on that land in January. This facility will be one that gives a solution to the needs of yellowfin tuna fishermen."

During the previous administration, a new fish processing facility had been built in Kandu Oiy Giri, a small island north of Hulhumalé, in order to cater to yellowfin tuna fishermen. It was developed for two purposes: to serve as a cold storage site for MIFCO and to provide space for private parties to package and process yellowfin tuna.

The state-owned Maldives Transport and Contracting Company carried out harbour expansion and coastal protection. The facility was handed over to MIFCO and was close to being opened when the government changed in November 2023.

But the Muizzu administration handed over the island to the Maldives National Defence Force and promised new land for MIFCO from Hulhumalé. However, yellowfin tuna processing plans were scrapped at the time. Kandu Oiy Giri has now been taken from MNDF and given back to MIFCO. But the current plans for the island remain unclear.

Fisheries Minister Shiyam was not responding to questions from the Maldives Independent at the time of publication. 

At the five-hour meeting on Monday, Shiyam told the fishermen that the government would either bring the factory into operation or designate an alternate location.

But fishermen remained skeptical.

"When we protested last year, we heard the same thing – that land had been allocated," said Mohamed. "We will have to stay on top of this and keep following up."