The Fisheries Ministry maintains that despite the industry experiencing the adverse effects of Covid-19, there remains a huge demand in international markets for groupers and that the future for grouper fishing in the Maldives looks bright.
Speaking on RaajjeTV's "Masveringe Salla" program, Director at the Fisheries Ministry Ahmed Shifaz said the fisheries industry had been faced with big obstacles following the global Covid-19 pandemic, and that fishing for groupers had nearly come to a complete halt in recent months.
Shifaz added that 90 percent of the game caught during grouper fishing was dedicated to the fisheries export vein, and that they had been unable to ship products to foreign countries following international air-travel and cargo-freight restrictions triggered by the pandemic.
Grouper fishing, especially, is very export-based with 90 percent of the game caught being exported to foreign markets, and export in turn is oriented around international air-travel. While the industry had suffered greatly following travel restrictions and border closures triggered by the pandemic, the situation is improving somewhat as borders re-open and international travel resumes across the globe. When the pandemic's effects were first felt in their full-intensity, grouper fishing nearly came to a complete halt as buyers were unable to acquire grouper supplies due to export veins being cut off. Grouper fishermen in the country bore the brunt of this economic discomfort and had stopped fishing for groupers as a result."Director at the Fisheries Ministry Ahmed Shifaz
Highlighting the importance of grouper fishing, Shifaz said that there were no other types of fishing they observed which gathered such a high demand from international markets, and that groupers could be sold in and to foreign countries at special prices.
Alluding to declining grouper populations in oceans all over the world, Shifaz said that foreigners had difficulty fishing for groupers from their native waters. However, he said that local fishermen continue to fish groupers from Maldivian seas, and that there was a bright future for the fisheries industry in grouper fishing.
Groupers are a family of fish often found in coral reefs coveted for the quality of their meat, considered a delicacy in foreign countries for its mild taste and unique texture.
