Ministry of Fisheries, Marine Resources and Agriculture has decided to conduct a survey on the decline of the bait fish population in the Maldives.
During the survey, the fisheries ministry will obtain data on the current bait fish population and determine ways to prevent further decline and restore the population. Information will also be gathered on the process of using bait fish for pole-and-line fishing by vessels.
The ministry will be conducting the survey with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). As such, the cost of conducting the survey will be covered by the government of the Maldives and Japan. Additionally, experts from Japan will be joining the survey to determine ways that live bait could be kept for longer on fishing vessels.
The ministry stated that the survey will be conducted on a 90ft long fishing vessel that has a minimum of two live bait storage containers. The surveyors will be joining fishing vessels active in the southern region that use live bait. The ministry stated that it will determine the changes that need to be made to live bait storage after analysing the current system of storage being used in Japan, in accordance with the recommendations of experts from JICA.
The ministry is currently seeking a fishing vessel for the survey. All interested parties are required to submit receipts to confirm they have been fishing for the past year. The vessel will be chosen by lucky draw.