Former shark fishermen learn farming and aquaculture at M&S-sponsored workshop
29 May 2012, 12:04 PM
Musliha Hassan
Mohamed Rauf is a father of three from Kanditheemu in Shaviyani Atoll. Like most fishermen in his island, he took up shark fishing as a means to provide for his family.
For three years Rauf’s family depended on selling sharks to local buyers until the government of the Maldives imposed a nationwide shark fishing ban, bringing a halt to his income from shark fishing.
In March 2010, the government banned all types of shark fishing within its territorial waters, which covers about 90,000 square kilometres, technically making it the largest shark sanctuary in the world at the time. A trade ban on all shark products was imposed in July 2011.
Rauf is just one of the estimated 200 shark fishermen whose livelihood was affected following the ban.
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