The Maldives is home to some of the planet's most spectacular marine life that ranges from whales and dolphins to the smallest coral-dwelling invertebrate and everything in between. This incredible aquatic diversity makes the Maldives one of the world's premier scuba diving destinations and now, the Republic of the Maldives is also becoming an important place on the world fishing map.
Sports Fishing in the Maldives
When sports fishing in the Maldives, you can experience the ways the locals fish, with a traditional line and weights, or you can use the modern equipment you are probably already used to. Fishing Tour Operators are increasing in the Maldives as people begin to consider the Maldives as a fishing destination. There are even several fishing liveaboards (like the scuba diving liveaboards) that you can spend a whole week on, trawling around the archipelago in search of the best sports fishing.
Maldives Fish Species If you are lucky enough to go fishing in the Maldives, you will be fishing for Sailfish, Tuna, Swordfish, Marlin, Wahoo and Barracuda, among other fish species. Spear fishing in the Maldives Spear fishing is banned in the Maldives as the waters here are protected by the Maldivian Government. Interestingly enough, the first scuba divers to come to the Maldives were from Italy and their main reason for coming to the Maldives was to hunt. They flocked to these densely populated waters with their spear guns and began to hunt the larger marine animals in the waters, namely the sharks, rays and large pelagic species. Later on, when the Maldives became popular with German tourists, they brought it to the Maldivian Government's attention that this barbaric sport could indeed cause fish populations to dwindle and also discourage other tourists from visiting the Maldives due to these barbaric fishing activities. So, 1998 the ban on spear fishing in the Maldives came into force.
The Maldives Fishing Industry
Fishing is one of the most important industries in the Maldives, along with tourism. A large percentage of Maldivian people make their living from fishing in the Maldivian waters. Fish is also the main source of protein for the islanders, so demand for the Maldives' fish is generated both locally and abroad. Fish exports from the Maldives are consistently growing, with the most commonly exported fish species being several varieties of Tuna, Snapper, Mahi Mahi and Sailfish. There is even a tuna cannery on the island of Felivaru, which provides a lot of jobs to the locals.
The Maldivians who fish
independently bring their catch in every day to the fish market at Male where they sell it to all the hotels and resorts from around the archipelago.
A typical day's catch can be from about 300 - 100 pounds of fish, although as time goes by, the catches are getting smaller. All fish in the Maldives must be caught by line and pole; net fishing is prohibited as a way of protecting these amazing waters. All species counts are greatly decreased from what they were years ago, particularly sharks and lobsters - despite being protected by law. Female lobsters are not to be fished, but it still happens.With a rapidly-growing population in the Maldives and a booming tourism industry, the demand for fish in the Maldives is increasing rapidly, as the supply is decreasing - even more rapidly.
Victoria Bourbon [http://www.wwwmaldives.com] Article Source: