"Despite difficulties due to Covid-19, future remains bright for grouper fishing"

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.

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.