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Reef Fish Resources Survey in the Maldives -Phase II-BOBP/WP/80

Year of publication 1992

Pages p.51

Author R. C. Anderson; Z. Waheed; M. Rasheed & A. Arif;Fishery and Aquaculture Economics and Policy Division

Product type Project

Edition 1

Synopsis (short abstract) This paper describes the second phase of a reef fish resources survey carried out in the Maldives and presents preliminary estimates of reef fish densities and maximum potential yields. This follows an earlier phase carried out during 1987-88 in North Male Atoll from the research vessel Faruinas (Van der Knaap et all 991) of the Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture. That first survey phase established that handli.nes and longlines are the best gear for catching Maldivian reef fish, it collected a considerable quantity of information of value for long-terni stock assessment and for potential developers, and it made a first estimate of potential yields from N. Male Atoll. The second phase was conducted in Shaviyani, Alifu and laaniu Atolls during 1989-91. Species compositions and catch rates for the major gear and fishing areas were established, regional and seasonal differences were noted and a considerable quantity of information on the biological characteristics of commercial speci es was collected. Preliminary estimates indicate a maximum potential yield of commercial reef fish (i.e. medium to large snapper, grouper, emperor and reefassociated jack)of the order of 30,000 ± 13,000 t/year. The atoll basins (which constitute by far the largest part of the Maldivian atolls) are identified as having relatively large reef fish resources. The deep reef slopes outside the atolls support some high value species, hut their total potential yield is relatively small. It must, howev er, be noted that the stock assessment presented here is only of a preliminary nature and if the reef fishery is to be expanded, possibilities for which appear to be good, detailed monitoring wifl he required to make a more precise stock assessment. The effort of several persons who worked on this survey need to be acknowledged. The staff of the Marine Research Section, particularly Hussein Shareef, Au Waheed, Ahmed Shareef, Ibrahim Naeem, Hussein Zahir, gave assistance with fieldwork and data compilation. Ali Naeem of MOFA assisted with the installation and the maintenance of electronic equipment on Farumas. The skippers (Yoosuf Idrees, Ibrahim Naseem, Adam Fulhu, Abdul Ghanee) and crew of Farumas cheerfully carried out the fieldwork, often in conditions that were far from ideal. Maizan Hassan Maniku, Lars Engvall, K. Sivasubramaniam, Martin Van der Knaap, Janne Fogeigren and Michel Kulbicki contributed by making useful comments on an early draft of this report. Constructive comment s were also received from Drs. Daniel Pauly and Jeffrey Polovina.

Language English

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