Does the Maldives have a shark problem?

Over the past two weeks, the chatter among the Kulhudhuffushi freediving and sports fishing community has been one of shock and disbelief. The island is rife with speculation over the attack and what actually happened, with some suggesting that fish chum had been used to attract catch, while others claimed there was no shark at all and the incident was caused by a boat propeller.

“The people on the island, and divers here.. we are completely shell shocked by how that attack happened,” Mario Mohamed, a well-known freediver and sports fisherman from Kulhufhuffushi told the Maldives Independent. “We don’t expect sharks to behave like that.”

In the early hours of April 19, a small group of freedivers went out to catch some wahoo on the southwest waters outside the island near the channel. The group told locals that they had just jumped from the speedboat and were on the surface getting ready to dive when the shark came up and grabbed one of them near the shoulder. The description of the attack suggests it was a bull shark. The man was taken to Kulhudhuffushi regional hospital and later transferred to Malé for treatment. His injuries were not life threatening. Police said an investigation was underway but have so far not given an update.

Regardless of the details surrounding the incident, it has added to a growing sentiment among Maldivian fishermen and the public that shark populations have surged since the 2010 ban on shark fishing.

A total ban on shark trade and export imposed in 2010 effectively made Maldivian waters a shark sanctuary – one of only 17 such areas worldwide. The Maldives are home to 31 shark species, 29 of which are globally threatened.

However a rise in negative interactions between sharks and humans, particularly fishermen, is testing support for the ban. Last June, the tragic death of a soldier following a shark attack during a training exercise near the Maavah channel in Laamu Atoll further fuelled concerns. 

Adding to the complexity, the Maldivian government has over the past year considered re-opening longline fishery, a practice notorious for its high levels of shark bycatch. These plans were met with strong opposition from conservation groups and traditional yellowfin tuna fishermen, leading to postponement.

So, has the Maldivian shark population genuinely exploded?

Marine biologists and researchers studying ocean ecosystems note that apex predators are signs of a healthy ecosystem and naturally self-regulating. Speaking to Dhauru last year, Shafiya Naeem, former Director General of the Maldives Marine Research Institute (MMRI), said MMRI research, utilising underwater cameras and dive surveys, had not identified a significant increase in shark numbers.

“Shark populations will naturally increase to some extent. Even if shark populations have not increased, if you keep dumping fish chum into the same area, they will gather there, so the amount of sharks seen visually might be more,” she explained, emphasising that sharks take a long time to reach sexual maturity and have a prolonged gestation period.

The latest publicly available report by the Sharkwatch programme conducted by MMRI under the Darwin Reef Fish Project dates back to 2014. The programme, encompassing 11,704 surveys across 540 sites over four years, found no clear upward trend in shark populations, nor any significant decline. Furthermore, other ecological studies cited in a 2022 research paper indicated that reef shark populations remained stable between 2016 and 2020, despite the differing perceptions held by many fishermen.

The MMRI did not respond to questions submitted by the Maldives Independent.

Reef and sports fishermen have increasingly reported frustrating encounters with sharks. The apex predators often bite and consume their catch – a phenomenon known as depredation – significantly impacting their livelihoods.

“To be honest, sharks have increased. People who are trying to protect them obviously won’t say that, they’ll say there’s fewer. But there are a lot of sharks, and it’s a nuisance for fishermen. It’s not possible to freedive anymore, people will still do it to earn a living but it’s difficult,” Ali Faiz, a fishermen from Laamu Dhanbidhoo, told the Maldives Independent.

Faiz was previously involved in freediving to collect sea cucumbers and grouper. He said freedivers now encounter six to seven sharks on each dive, even in areas that did not have sharks before.

“The reef area outside our island’s harbour, we are not able to fish from there either. We see big sharks over six feet there. We put the handline out and it will get cut or the catch will be taken by the shark. We see such big sharks that are near to shore too,” he said

Ahmed Zahir, a middle-aged freediver from Laamu Gan, echoed this concern.

“In some parts of the atoll, there’s so many that it’s scary to dive. We need to start catching sharks and get rid of them now,” he said.

Ahmed said he has noticed a “100 percent increase” since he started freediving over 12 years ago.

“When we go fishing on a boat, we can’t catch fish because our catch gets eaten, especially if we go to a channel. We sometimes come back because we just cannot get any catch, we get half the fish. Fushi Kandu used to be where we could catch a lot of giulhu (green jobfish), but people don’t go there anymore because one in two [catches] get taken by a shark.”

Mario, the Kulhudhuffushi freediver, said those who deny shark populations have increased are those that benefit from shark tourism.

“They don’t want to say [numbers] have increased because obviously they benefit from it. But for us, there’s no tourism up here in Haa Dhaal, so the ban has only given us a loss,” he said.

The fishermen’s reports align with findings from 2022 research which found that 73 percent of fishermen from the central atolls had reported shark depredation since the shark fishing ban was imposed.

Almost all reef fishermen surveyed (97 percent) reported negative interactions with sharks, with catch losses of 43 percent and gear losses of 35 percent leading to an estimated daily income loss of 21 percent. Twelve percent of reef fishermen admitted to killing sharks in retaliation.

Notably, the losses by reef fishermen were significantly higher than those reported by pelagic handline and pole and line fishermen, who operate in deeper waters. The study did not examine the different fishing gear or methods used by reef fishermen. 

Sports fishers increasingly report frustrating encounters with sharks after their expensive jigs get cut out and taken away by sharks.

“I do it for fun but there are people who do it for their livelihood as a way of earning income. One jig costs somewhere between MVR 60 and MVR 300 for the biggest jigs, so if you put one of those into the deep and it gets taken by a shark, that’s MVR 300 gone just like that. It’s not worth it.” Mario explained.

According to Shaha Hashim, Executive Director of Maldives Resilient Reefs, new fishing gear and techniques such as the use of submerged chum bags, spearfishing, and jigging (use of a weighted lure to mimic injured prey) may be contributing to increased depredation rates.

These newer methods of reef fishing, combined with “irresponsible tourism practices, such as disposing of food waste in the ocean and shark feeding tourism” can disrupt sharks' natural behaviors leading to increased shark incidents, Shaha said.

The history of shark exploitation and historical decline of the shark population is also important to consider, according to Shaha.

The populations of reef sharks, deepwater gulpar sharks had already declined in the 1980s and 90s while the oceanic shark populations declined in the 2000s. Despite a moratorium on shark fishing across eight atolls in 1998, and the complete ban in 2010, sharks were being caught through longlining as late as 2019, she said.

As a result, many reef fishermen today have operated in a system without a healthy shark population for most of their lives.

Conservationists and shark divers have a different interaction with sharks compared to fishermen, Shaha noted.

“Conservationists often spend considerable time observing sharks in their natural habitats, which helps them understand that unprovoked shark incidents are quite rare. In contrast, fishermen may not have the time or the opportunity to study shark behaviour closely and often bring bait or their catch into the water, which can attract unwanted attention from sharks.”

In addition to this, the general public’s fear of sharks is influenced by the sensationalism often portrayed in popular culture, depicting them as dangerous creatures, Shaha said.

“It is essential to recognise that sharks play a critical role in both fisheries productivity and the continued growth of the tourism sector. As apex predators, they help maintain the balance of marine ecosystems. However, caution is necessary when we are in their territory to ensure safety and promote coexistence.”

Shark diving has added to the allure of the Maldives as a tourist destination, especially among diving enthusiasts, creating a thriving dive industry across the country. 

A piece of 2012 research estimated that 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. 

The southern atoll island of Fuvahmulah meanwhile has attained a global reputation as hosting the largest aggregation of tiger sharks in the world, resulting in a booming dive industry on the island. But the dive community there has also faced criticism for practicing uncontrolled feeding to attract sharks to entertain guests.

New research reported by The Times last week suggests that influencers seeking selfies are contributing to an increase in shark attacks. The Times singled out posts by Ocean Ramsey, a Hawaii-based conservationist who routinely posts videos of herself manhandling sharks. 

Ramsey frequently visits the Maldives and posts content shot in Maldivian waters, where she is seen freediving around sharks and “redirecting” them by touching their heads.

“I can’t believe that ‘please don’t grab the 18ft-long wild predator’ is something that needs to be explicitly said out loud, but here we are,” one marine biologist, David Shiffman, told the Washington Post.

Abdulla Hasrath ‘Hatthu’, a veteran diver and dive center owner, said the practice of diving specifically to encounter sharks had changed during his 30 years in the industry. Dive centres are increasingly dumping fish chum in order to attract sharks, then using drones and underwater photography to help tourists “capture the moment”. The practice changes the natural behaviour of sharks and teaches them to associate humans with food.

“A good 70 percent of people who dive are not divers, they come here for the moment,” Hatthu said. “A diver is someone who loves the ocean. They don’t care if they only see small fish, they will enjoy it. But a lot of people who come now are people who want to capture the moment, to capture the photo. So they are not ocean lovers. So the dive schools need to give them a show to generate revenue. That’s why we have feeding and photography. The future will be a little dark if we cannot stop this immediately.”

“We used to go to [dive] sites like Embudu Express or Maya Thila to enjoy the show given by sharks. But now, the stage is created by divers, the whole thing is orchestrated by divers, we are no longer spectators, we are the people organising the show.”

Feeding and attracting sharks are leading to a lot of incidents daily, he said, suggesting that unreported incidents happen “almost daily”.

“In Hulhumalé alone there’s been over seven incidents that have not been reported. Incidents only get reported if the photos get leaked. Even if it's not a bite attack, there is a relatively fearful incident almost every day.”

Efforts to self-regulate within the dive industry in Hulhumalé have met with strong opposition from younger divers, who have a greater presence on social media and want to “entertain the customer at any cost," Hatthu said.

“Maafushi is [another] prime example. They feed and shoot footage from drones and from underwater when the sharks come near, then they sell the pictures.”

Hatthu predicted a “dark future” unless stronger regulations are implemented.

“Personally, I believe shark tourism is a good thing, but strong regulation is needed to sustain it. People need to realise we are not against it, we want to sustain it," he said.