Fishing in the Maldives

The Maldives is home to some of the planet'sGerman tourists, they brought it to the Maldivian
most spectacular marine life that ranges fromGovernment's attention that this barbaric sport
whales and dolphins to the smallest coral-dwellingcould indeed cause fish populations to dwindle and
invertebrate and everything in between. Thisalso discourage other tourists from visiting the
incredible aquatic diversity makes the Maldives oneMaldives due to these barbaric fishing activities.
of the world's premier scuba diving destinationsSo, 1998 the ban on spear fishing in the Maldives
and now, the Republic of the Maldives is alsocame into force.
becoming an important place on the world fishingThe Maldives Fishing Industry
map.Fishing is one of the most important industries in
Sports Fishing in the Maldivesthe Maldives, along with tourism. A large
When sports fishing in the Maldives, you canpercentage of Maldivian people make their living
experience the ways the locals fish, with afrom fishing in the Maldivian waters. Fish is also
traditional line and weights, or you can use thethe main source of protein for the islanders, so
modern equipment you are probably already useddemand for the Maldives' fish is generated both
to. Fishing Tour Operators are increasing in thelocally and abroad. Fish exports from the Maldives
Maldives as people begin to consider the Maldivesare consistently growing, with the most
as a fishing destination. There are even severalcommonly exported fish species being several
fishing liveaboards (like the scuba divingvarieties of Tuna, Snapper, Mahi Mahi and Sailfish.
liveaboards) that you can spend a whole week on,There is even a tuna cannery on the island of
trawling around the archipelago in search of theFelivaru, which provides a lot of jobs to the locals.
best sports fishing.The Maldivians who fish independently bring their
Maldives Fish Speciescatch in every day to the fish market at Male
If you are lucky enough to go fishing in thewhere they sell it to all the hotels and resorts
Maldives, you will be fishing for Sailfish, Tuna,from around the archipelago. A typical day's catch
Swordfish, Marlin, Wahoo and Barracuda, amongcan be from about 300 - 100 pounds of fish,
other fish species.although as time goes by, the catches are getting
Spear fishing in the Maldivessmaller. All fish in the Maldives must be caught by
Spear fishing is banned in the Maldives as theline and pole; net fishing is prohibited as a way of
waters here are protected by the Maldivianprotecting these amazing waters. All species
Government. Interestingly enough, the first scubacounts are greatly decreased from what they
divers to come to the Maldives were from Italywere years ago, particularly sharks and lobsters -
and their main reason for coming to the Maldivesdespite being protected by law. Female lobsters
was to hunt. They flocked to these denselyare not to be fished, but it still happens.
populated waters with their spear guns and beganWith a rapidly-growing population in the Maldives
to hunt the larger marine animals in the waters,and a booming tourism industry, the demand for
namely the sharks, rays and large pelagic species.fish in the Maldives is increasing rapidly, as the
Later on, when the Maldives became popular withsupply is decreasing - even more rapidly.