Come November, Maldivian waters will no longer be a shark sanctuary

Gulper shark fishing will be reauthorised with effect on November 1, Muizzu announced during a visit to the northern island, formerly a thriving hub for shark fisheries before a drastic decline in stocks prompted a nationwide shark fishing ban in 2010.

"After November 1, those who want to rejoin this fishery will have that opportunity. So I call on those who want to prepare for it. To get ready. With the grace of God, that is a very important door that's being opened," the president said.

The fisheries management plan has been completed, he said. But details have yet to be disclosed. 

A fisheries ministry official said a draft management plan is "undergoing minor adjustments" and that it will be opened for comment soon.

The plans have reignited debate and drawn criticism from domestic and international conservation groups. The 2010 ban on shark trade and export made Maldivian waters one of only 17 shark sanctuaries in the world. The Maldives is home to 31 shark species, 29 of which are globally threatened.

"Reopening shark fishing threatens the Maldives' hard-earned reputation as a global shark sanctuary," Brendon Sing, the founder of Shark Guardian, warned. "Sharks are far more valuable alive, supporting eco-tourism, healthy reefs, and the livelihoods of local communities. Allowing fishing would undermine decades of conservation progress and damage the Maldives' international image."

Gulpar sharks, called kashi miyaru in Dhivehi, are a deepwater species that grows slow and matures late. In the Maldives, it was traditionally targeted for its liver oil, a product with a high market value over its high concentration of squalene.

The president's announcement came as he offered updates and new deadlines for key campaign pledges and stalled projects in Kulhudhuffushi City, the most populous island in the northernmost atolls. Muizzu oversaw the signing of agreements on housing and sports infrastructure during the meeting with residents at the Jalaluddin School. But the speeches by Muizzu and Mayor Mohamed Athif – a popular incumbent from the main opposition party – reflected underlying tensions as the president sought to placate the restive populace.

Reopening gulper shark fishery, which supported dozens of families in Kulhudhuffushi more than 20 years ago, has broad support within the community, especially among fishers. Sharks have been a recurring theme in the island's famous mashi maali Eid parade in recent years.  

Mayor Athif said local fishermen used to regularly ask him if the fishery could be opened.

"People come to me all the time and tell me they will go right away if they opened it up. Even if they open it now, about six dhonis will go into it," he told the Maldives Independent.

"I think 80 percent of the men in Kulhudhuffuhi will support it."

At the peak of the shark fishery between 1998 and 2000, a record 80 dhoni from Kulhudhuffushi were involved in long-lining for sharks, according to research conducted by the Marine Research Centre. The high number of vessels was a result of productive fishing seasons in the mid-1990s encouraging more people to enter the sector, some of whom were supported by loans by the local branch of the Bank of Maldives.

The majority of the catch was silky sharks. But various other types, including gulper sharks, were also caught. Aside from the men who went out fishing, the trade employed many other residents, including shark butchers and shark processors, forming a mini-industry reliant on the fishery. The industry would have supplied income for about three quarters of the island at the time, Mayor Athif estimated.

"Every house would have directly or indirectly benefited from it. My father went to long line fishing and he was able to bring back a considerable income for that time, sometimes MVR 10,000 (US$ 648) a week. So that was very high for that time," he said.

But the decline in catch as stocks gradually collapsed in the 2000s led to many people switching to part-time fishing and eventually leaving the fishery. By the time shark fishing was banned in 2010, there were only 10 shark fishing dhonis in Kulhudhuffushi.

The decline in shark stocks became apparent before the Kulhudhuffushi shark fishery peaked in the late 1990s as the Marine Research Center in Malé started noticing a downward trend. In 1998, the government imposed a 10-year moratorium on shark fishing around the central and south-central atolls where tourism was growing rapidly.

The tourism industry, particularly dive tourism, relies heavily on sharks. According to a 2012 study, shark divers contributed US$ 14.4 million as direct revenue for businesses, with an additional US$ 51.4 million in value to associated local businesses and US$ 7.2 million through taxes. The shark diving sector directly supported 239 jobs and generated US$ 4.1 million in salaries.

Mayor Athif attributed the strong support to re-open shark fishing in Kulhudhuffushi to years of neglect.

"I think at the time people even accepted [the ban]. But since then there has been frustration because in exchange for it, we did not get tourism in this region," he explained. "Governments did not really care about this region. That is the main reason – not being able to give us an alternative."

The 2010 shark fishing ban took effect after a one-year grace period to allow fishermen to find alternative employment, fisheries minister Dr Ibrahim Didi told parliament at the time.

However, Kulhudhuffushi fishermen say they did not receive promised support.

Ali Mohamed, a former longline fisherman from Kulhudhuffushi, recounted to young fishing content creator Hassan Saajin (Zuvaan Masveriyaa) how the ban affected families.

Over 70 boats went to long line fishing before and brought in a combined weekly income of MVR 600,000, Ali said. He recalled a meeting with then- president Mohamed Nasheed, who promised to offer loans, establish ice plants and provide vessels to transition to yellowfin tuna. But banning shark fishing without providing an alternative source of income posed "serious challenges" for fishers, he said.

Mayor Athif echoed these sentiments. Shark fishermen received very little compensation, he said.

"The only compensation that they got was for the vessel owners who got some compensation for the fishing gear. There is not much else," he said. "That's what happened. It's livelihood, they were not shown an alternative. That's the reason so many people want it back."

The announcement marks the Muizzu administration's second attempt to end the moratorium on shark fishing. Last year, the government attempted to reopen long line fisheries under a loophole that allows shark caught as "bycatch" to be sold off.

A chapter on bycatch in the 32-page regulation drafted at the time stated that targeting sharks would remain illegal. But detailed provisions allowed vessels to land and process sharks caught as bycatch at licensed facilities. The proposed rules specified licensing requirements for such facilities and processes for exporting the bycatch.

However, the government scrapped the plans in the face of widespread opposition and lobbying from conservationists, international organisations and fisheries unions that were worried about commercial fisheries impacting local livelihoods.

The push to lift the ban stretches even further back. In 2021, former fisheries minister Zaha Waheed floated the idea in parliament during the Maldivian Democratic Party government. But she soon backtracked following a campaign by conservation groups and tourism businesses.

Reopening the fishery, particularly through long line fishing, remains challenging, especially since long line fishing was suspended in 2019 due to unregulated practices. Moreover, the sale of shark products conflict with the Maldives' treaty obligations.

The 20th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species – of which the Maldives is a member – is due to consider adding gulper sharks to the list of restricted species later this year.