ENVIRONMENT
Protect Our Seas
News and views from the world of marine heritage and conservation
Confusion over ‘ shark fishing ’ in the Maldives
The Maldives government has issued a statement denying it is planning to lift its complete ban on shark fishing . The same statement did , however , refer to plans for a new longline fishery , which may itself impact on sharks .
The ban on shark fishing within the Maldives ’ Exclusive Economic Zone was introduced in 2010 , when the entire zone was declared a shark sanctuary . However , concerns about the ban ’ s long term viability were raised when the Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources , Zaha Wahid , recently mentioned exemptions to the ban . The
Illustration of longline fishing courtesy of the Marine Stewardship Council
ministry has now issued a press release to clarify that her comments were made in relation to bycatch associated with the reintroduction of a longline fishery targetting bigeye tuna .
Nevertheless , the prospect of new longline industry could prove equally detrimental to the Maldives ’ reputation for sustainable fisheries , as the technique is notoriously indisciminating when it comes to catching and killing large marine creatures .
Meanwhile , Maldivian authorities have been investigating complaints from handline yellowfin tuna fishers that their fishery has been depleted by a supposed increased abundance of sharks . Initial studies carried out by the Madives Marine Research Institute do not indicate a significant recovery in the shark population since the inception of the ban .
Mining the deep sea
Corporations including BMW , Samsung and Google have lent their weight to calls against proposed mining of the abyssal plain . Their declarations have been criticised by companies behind the deep-sea mining plans , who argue the practice is more sustainable in the ocean than on land .
The idea refers specifically to the extraction of billions of mineral-rich lumps of rock , each about the size of a potato . While such nodules aren ’ t big , they could be the subject of a new gold rush , because many of them contain cobalt and other metals needed for battery technology .
BMW has said there is too little evidence on the consequences of abyssal mining , and that it will not use minerals from that source . The mining companies , meanwhile , point out that the minerals will be necessary for battery power in the future and are preferable to resources taken from rainforests .
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