Dead on arrival: a shark fishery with no fishers

Council members from all four islands approved as landing sites – Haa Dhaal Kulhudhuffushi, Shaviyani Funadhoo, Raa Maduvvari, and Alif Alif Himandhoo – told the Maldives Independent that no fishing boat has so far started catching gulpers. The fishers themselves say the new rules – strict limits on vessels, designated landing sites, and stringent licensing requirements – have left the industry dead on arrival. 

"To be honest, the regulation is not set up in a way that is humanly possible for an ordinary fisher. People like us cannot get the licence and meet the requirements. Unless the regulation changes, we cannot do it," said Mohamed Ibrahim, a fisherman from Kulhudhuffushi who examined the licensing requirements with his brother before abandoning the idea.

The fisheries ministry enforced the new regulations after publishing a management plan ahead of lifting the 15-year shark fishing ban on November 1, ending the country’s status as one of only 17 shark sanctuaries in the world. 

In the Maldives, gulper shark fishing began in the 1970s, peaked in the 1980s, and collapsed within two years in the 1990s, the management plan noted. To avoid a repeat, it emphasised the need for a precautionary approach due to limited research and climate risks.

The plan anticipates the impact of potential global trade restrictions. If a proposal to list gulper sharks under Annex II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) is approved in December, it would require the Maldives environment ministry to conduct a Non-Detrimental Finding (NDF) to prove the fishery does not threaten the species before export permits could be issued. The plan acknowledges the vulnerability of the species, whose slow-growing, late-maturing biology contributed to the stock collapse in the 1990s.

Under the new regulations, gulper shark fishing vessels, suppliers, processors and exporters are all required to obtain licenses. Licenses will be valid for a one-year period from November until October of the following year. It will only be issued to a maximum of 40 vessels at a time, with a waiting list for further applicants.

Gulper shark fishing is limited to seven months a year from December to June. Vessels must travel beyond atoll boundaries. Fishing is prohibited inside atolls, near protected areas, fish aggregating devices, and research buoys. All fishing boats must install a Vessel Locating Device that must remain switched on at all times. If the device fails or is turned off, vessels must report their coordinates every four hours.

Vessels must submit logbook data. Processors, suppliers and exporters must file detailed purchase reports. Exporters must label products accurately and pay MVR 20 (US$ 1.1) for each catch certificate – documentation that will be essential if CITES restrictions come into force.

Landing and processing catch will be restricted to Kulhudhuffushi, Funadhoo, Maduvvari, and Himandhoo. The four islands were selected based on their history as popular gulper shark fishing locations.

Himandhoo Council President Husham Ismail said the fisheries ministry has started discussions with the council to sign an agreement for the implementation of the gulper regulation.

The regulation also prescribes hefty fines. Major violations, including fishing or processing without a licence, using illegal gear, or landing sharks at unapproved ports, carry a penalty of MVR 400,000. Targeting other shark species or exporting without catch certificates carries an MVR 100,000 fine. Additional penalties apply for falsified data or employing expatriates. Licences could be revoked for third-time offenders.

No fisher has obtained the license or started fishing to date, according to fishermen from Kulhudhuffushi. City council members were unaware of any fishermen from the island who have gone gulper shark fishing.

Mohamed Ibrahim, the Kulhudhuffushi fishermen who was dissuaded by the rules, noted the requirement for applicants to list a supplier on the form. None currently meet this criteria, he said. 

"Processing is a different phase altogether. Even tuna fishers don't always know where they will land their catch. There are many nonsensical requirements like that,” he said. 

"No one in our island has started it. This whole thing was done mohonah odi dhin hen [as window dressing]. We want to do it. But it's not possible under this regulation."

Gulper shark fishing traditionally required only a small boat and minimal investment. "Someone with a 30-foot boat could do it in the afternoon after office work. You wouldn't even need MVR 50,000 to start,” he explained

Mohamed criticised the locating device requirement, which is currently only available from telecom provider Ooredoo.

"It's just a tracking device with no internet or other service, but you have to pay MVR 2,000 a month. It suits bigger boats, not small ones. You could buy a better, cheaper device from abroad with help from an IT group, but that won't be accepted. In the Maldives, everything is set up to benefit a certain person or party,” he said, describing the regulation as “an intentional barrier to entry.”

Kulhudhuffushi fishers have previously decried how the 2010 shark fishing ban devastated livelihoods. Although President Muizzu reopened the fishery in response to long-standing grievances, fishers say what they actually wanted was the revival of the prohibited longline fishery.

"I'm confident that if long-lining was reopened, at least 50 boats would join within three months –that’s 400 families," said Abdul Majeed, a 48-year-old fishermen from Kulhudhuffushi.

"I didn't do gulper fishing, but my grandfather did. After I was born, I don't remember anyone doing it. What we did was longline fishing. There were three or four groups buying sharks at the time. They bought everything except the head and the bones – selling to suppliers in Malé who exported to Thailand and Sri Lanka."

Majeed repeated a popular narrative among fishers: as shark populations have exploded in the Maldives, catching gulper sharks would be difficult without targeting larger species in shallower depths.

"Gulpar sharks are deep-sea species – below 150 to 300 metres and deeper. I told them we can only take gulpers after taking the sharks above them, because the sharks above are much more now," he said, referring to a consultation meeting with fisheries ministry officials last month.

Adam Waheed, 53, a fishermen who previously practiced long-lining, said he was familiar with gulper catching techniques but still preferred longline fishing.

"I went long-lining, but my brothers caught gulper sharks. I saw the gear they used. When it stopped, a litre of liver oil could fetch MVR 75. That was a lot then – the daily income at the time was MVR 25," he said.

The reopening of the gulper shark fishery went ahead despite strong opposition from the tourism industry as well as both domestic and international conservation groups. The UK-based Blue Marine Foundation together with local partners Miyaru and Maldives Resilient Reefs observed it would undermine decades of conservation work.

"This method also puts all species of deep-diving sharks, including tiger sharks, hammerheads and pelagic threshers, at risk of bycatch. With limited monitoring and enforcement capacity, this will mark the beginning of a silent loss of apex predators that once found refuge in Maldivian waters," the organisations warned on November 1.