Reconstruction of total marine catches for the Maldives: 1950 – 2010

Abstract

The republic of the Maldives has always relied on its marine resources for food and employment security, and for trade revenue. Traditionally, Maldivian fisheries focused on tuna, shark and live-bait. During the 1970s, rapid development, expansion and diversification (including reef fisheries) of marine fisheries and the tourist industry began. Catch statistics have been recorded by the Ministry of Fisheries, Agriculture and Marine Resources (MoFAMR) since 1959. A total enumeration system has evolved over time, initially focusing on catches by the poleand-line tuna fishery, it has since been expanded to incorporate other gears types and species. A lack of financial and human resources has led to concerns over the accuracy of the catch data reported to the FAO. A catch reconstruction approach, using quantitative and qualitative sources, was used to reconstruct total marine fisheries catches for the 1950-2010 time period. Total reconstructed marine catches were estimated, which were 23% more than the tonnage reported by the Maldives to the FAO. Total catches increased from around 22,000 t·year-1 in the 1950s to a peak of 223,000 t in 2006, before declining to about 143,000 t·year-1 in the late 2000s. When tuna and non-tuna catches were examined separately, large skipjack tuna catches were found to be masking the under-reporting of other species such as grouper, sea cucumber, and sharks, all of which are known to be susceptible to over-fishing. The Maldives fishing and tourism industries, as well as food and employment security are dependent on healthy marine ecosystems, it is therefore imperative that reported catch statistics more accurately reflect total extractions from the marine environment.