Maldives national report submitted to the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission Scientific Committee ‐ 2017

Abstract

The Maldivian tuna fishery comprises of four main components; pole-and-line, handline, longline and troll line. The most important is still the traditional livebait pole-and-line tuna fishery. The main target species is skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis), but small amounts of juvenile yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) are also caught in the fishery of which about 5-10% is bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus). Handline fishery is still expanding which targets large yellowfin tuna (> 70 cm FL) from the surface (<10m). Following termination of joint venture licencing in 2010, a fully Maldivian-flagged longline fishery is now established. Troll fishery is minor and targets mainly neritic species of kawakawa (Euthynnus affinis) and frigate tuna (Auxis thazard), but occasionally also catches skipjack and yellowfin tuna. Total tuna catches for the 5 species of tunas (skipjack tuna, yellowfin tuna, bigeye tuna, frigate tuna and kawakawa) caught in the Maldives was at about 126,000 t. These catches came from pole and line, handline, longline and trolling gear. Pole and line catch, dominated by skipjack tuna, was at 69,500 t while the handline catch, which targets surface dwelling schools of large yellowfin tuna, was at 53,000 t. Landings from the longline fleet observed an increase from the previous year to 1,300 t. The catch from trolling fleet continues to be on the decline with a mere 64 t being reported in 2015 Skipjack tuna registered a slight decrease in catch in 2016 relative to 2015 (~1%). Catches for the most recent five years ranged between 50 and 75,000 t, with an average of 67,000 t. catches have been of the order of 50,000 – 75,000 t. Caches of yellowfin are steadily increasing, due to the growing handline fishery. Most recent five years’ catch averaged at 49,000 t with a range of 44 – 53,700 t. Bigeye tuna landings increased by ~42% to 2,400 t in 2016. The growth was driven by the increased contribution from longline and pole and line. Maldives pole-and-line and handline tuna fishery have minimal impact on the ecosystem. Catch and interactions with Endangered, Threatened and Protected (ETP) species and other species of ecological importance is virtually non-existent. Sharks bycatch and turtles are reported from the longline fishery, which has strict measures to report and release those that are caught. In addition, measures to mitigate bird entanglement in the longline gear are mandated by law. Logbooks for all the tuna fisheries have provisions to report catch and interactions of ETP species. Marine Research Centre currently conducts scientific observations of fishing trips that allow verification of logbook reported data. The national data collection was based on complete enumeration system, which is now replaced by a modern logbook data collection system. A web-enabled database is now online to allow compilation and processing of catch and effort data. The web-enabled database is also used to record tuna purchases by the exporters. The database will also help maintain records of active fishing vessel and fishing licenses. Vessel monitoring system covers 100% of the longline vessels and trips and a number of pole and line and handline vessels. In addition, the observer data collected from pole-and-line and handline fisheries enable verification of fishermen reported data. Beginning 2018, electronic observer systems will be installed on licensed fishing vessels on a rotational basis to cover 5% of the trips. A number of research programs funded by the Government and NGOs are currently being implemented. The programs are geared towards improving national reporting and compliance to IOTC conservation and management measures and towards understanding and minimising impacts of fisheries on the ecosystem. Research activities relevant to fisheries managed by IOTC include work on understanding the behaviour of tunas around Anchored FADs, understanding the socio-economic dimensions in tuna fisheries of the coastal states in the context of IOTC rights-based management and allocation issues, bycatch sampling, and continued development of the Fishery Information System.