The spiny dogfish fishery has been opened to the public, and the management plan and regulations for the fishery have been published.
Formulated under the Maldives Fisheries Act, these regulations and plan were published today in the Government Gazette by the Fisheries Ministry and have now come into effect.
The spiny dogfish fishery management plan is a framework to organize, operate, and manage the fishery. The objectives of these regulations include establishing a system to organize and operate the spiny dogfish fishery, managing it responsibly, and guiding state institutions and all stakeholders involved in the sustainable development of the fishery and its trade.
Under this plan, all species commonly referred to as spiny dogfish will be managed. Furthermore, this plan will apply to all activities that may affect any species of spiny dogfish in the Maldives. This includes the harvesting, processing, storing, buying and selling, and exporting of spiny dogfish and its products. The plan will also apply to individuals, vessels, processing facilities, and exporting facilities engaged in any activity within the scope of this plan or related activities.
The regulation on organizing, operating, and managing the spiny dogfish fishery is formulated with the objective of implementing the spiny dogfish fishery management plan and organizing, operating, and managing the fishery and related activities. According to this regulation, a committee must be formed to advise the Ministry on the implementation and review of the spiny dogfish fishery management plan. This committee must be established within six months of the regulation coming into effect. The Minister will appoint members to the committee.
As stated in the regulation, participation in the spiny dogfish fishery and its trade requires a license issued by the Fisheries Ministry for that purpose. Vessels engaged in the spiny dogfish fishery, all processing parties and facilities, and all parties involved in supplying spiny dogfish must obtain a license. Under this regulation, licenses for spiny dogfish fishing will be issued to a maximum of 40 vessels. If the number of license applications exceeds the set limit, the applicants must be registered and waitlisted in the order of their application, and priority in issuing licenses will be given in the order of the applications received, the regulation states. The duration of the license issued by the Ministry is from the first day of November each year to the end of October the following year.
License duration and fees for spiny dogfish fishery:
Fishing vessels: 12 months / 2,000 Rufiyaa
Processing parties: 12 months / 5,000 Rufiyaa
Supplying parties: 12 months / 3,000 Rufiyaa
According to the regulation, if a party licensed by the Fisheries Ministry commits any prohibited act, the captain, operator, or license owner will be fined 400,000 Rufiyaa.
Vessels engaged in the spiny dogfish fishery must install and maintain a Vessel Locating Device (VLD) that meets the standards set by the Ministry, the regulation also states. While spiny dogfish fishing activities are designated to be conducted in areas outside the atoll rims, the fishery can only be conducted for a period not exceeding seven months in any Gregorian calendar year. The regulation also states that it is prohibited for parties engaged in this fishery to conduct any type of fishing that is designated as prohibited in the maritime zone.
According to the regulation, it is prohibited to separate any part of the caught fish from its body before bringing it to port in the spiny dogfish fishery. It also states that conducting any processing activity before bringing it to port is prohibited. Furthermore, the guidelines state that targeting any species of shark other than spiny dogfish in the spiny dogfish fishery is prohibited.
The spiny dogfish fishery is a type of fishery that was practiced in the Maldives years ago and from which fishermen derived significant benefits. It was stopped due to the declining shark population in the Maldives. However, the shark population has now increased in the Maldives, and complaints from fishermen about sharks causing difficulties have also increased.
Although shark fishing, including the spiny dogfish fishery, began in the Maldives in the 1970s, it expanded in the 1980s with the introduction of longline fishing. As this fishery expanded, it was commonly practiced in the northern islands of the Maldives. The spiny dogfish fishery mainly targeted three species of spiny dogfish found in the deep waters outside the atolls.
