Maldives government moves to ban shark hunting

Sharks and tourists just won a new favorite vacation spot. The Maldives today declared its 35,000 square miles of Indian Ocean waters to be a shark sanctuary – a move that may send a message to an international meeting next week where countries will consider worldwide trade restrictions for some shark species. In the Maldives – a top eco-tourist destination – fishing for the predators is now banned and so is the import and export of shark fins – a worldwide trade that kills up to 73 million sharks annually. Fins are sliced off sharks and used mostly as a soup ingredient.
The sanctuary, which is roughly the size of Portugal, is a boon to both sharks and tourists. The Maldives is home to more than 30 shark species, including several that are threatened. And it is one of the world’s premier scuba diving destinations. More sharks mean an even bigger tourist attraction. The country determined that shark tourism would be a bigger economic benefit than continued shark fishing. The Maldives will help shark fishermen find different jobs.

It’s the kind of win-win arrangement that provides an economic and environmental boost all in one – the type of goal my colleagues at the Pew Environment Group are promoting around the world. The Maldives becomes the second nation to grant blanket protection for sharks. Palau, a small Micronesian state that is also a top diving spot, created a sanctuary in September. This announcement came in advance of a international meeting several weeks back, the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Countries will consider trade restrictions for eight species of sharks, including the scalloped hammerhead and oceanic whitetip, both of which are found in the Maldives. Sharks throughout the world’s oceans are in serious decline. More than one third of the world’s shark species are threatened or near threatened with extinction.
If the Maldives and Palau can see the benefit of conserving sharks, maybe their example will help other nations realize the value of protecting top ocean predators that are increasingly in peril.

Content credits: Debbie Salamone

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