The Fisheries Ministry announced on Saturday that gulper shark fishing will be allowed each year between December and June, marking the lifting of a blanket ban on shark fishing that has been in place in the Maldives for years.
The Maldives has had a blanket ban on shark fishing since 2010. But in August, President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu announced the decision to partially lift this plan to allow gulper shark fishing.
This decision took effect on Saturday.
According to the regulation on management of gulper shark fishery published by the Fisheries Ministry on the Government Gazette, it will only be allowed from December 1 to June 30 each year.
The license for gulper shark fishery will also be limited to 40 fishing vessels.
According to the regulation, applications for the license will open from November to October, and the names of all applications, including those who do not meet the 40-vessel quota, must be included in a registry.
The license will be issued on the first come first served basis, and any slots that are vacated will go to the next in line in the registry.
According to the regulation, gulper shark fishing must be carried out in waters outside the atolls.
The regulation also stipulates that exporters of gulper sharks or gulper shark products must purchase the fish from parties with a license to fish, process or supply gulper sharks.
The regulation prescribes fines of up to MVR 400,000 for violations, and fines of up to MVR 100,000 for fishing any other shark species.
The decision to lift the ban on gulper shark fishing has met with concern from environmental conservation groups including Blue Marine Foundation, Maldives Resilient Reefs, and Miyaru, who have warned that gulper sharks are slow-growing deep-sea species that reproduce infrequently, making them particularly vulnerable to overfishing.
But President Muizzu has said that gulper shark fishing is being permitted under a comprehensive management plan to ensure sustainability and regulatory compliance.