Fisheries

With the majority of it geographical features consisting of sea area, and with no other natural resources, Maldives heavily depend on the ocean for its sustenance. Fishing has served as the principal means of livelihood for the people throughout the country’s history. Tuna makes up the bulk of fish caught in the Maldives with skipjack tuna being the most common species. The predominant methods of fishing are pole and line for skipjack and trolling for surface fish such as little tuna, frigate, mackerel, wahoo and jacks. Canned, frozen and dried tuna are the country’s major exports.

The replacement of traditional sailing boats by mechanised boats, the liberalisation of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and the increasing number of vessels in the EEZ have greatly enhanced the growth of the fisheries sector.

Fisheries was the dominant sector of the economy until the tourism industry surpassed fisheries in terms of its contribution to GDP in 1985. Although the fisheries sector’s contribution to GDP has declined from 10.7% in 1990 to 5.9% in 2001, it remains the third largest sector earning foreign exchange in the country. It is also the main provider of employment in atolls outside the tourism zone. In 2001, the value of fish exports reached over MRf 538,337 comprising 57.4% of the total exports of the country.

The government’s recent introduction of a Skipjack Industry Development Programme to further enhance the sector, allowed Maldivian companies and/or investors to engage in purchasing, processing and exporting skipjack in zone one of the four fisheries zones of the Maldives. Zone one consists of four atolls in the northern part of the Maldives. In keeping with the government’s policy to introduce private sector participation in the fisheries industry, the government proposes to open zone 3 in the near future as well.

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