National Plan of Action for the Conservation and Management of Sharks 2015.

The increased exploitation of sharks has raised global concerns over the sustainability of the species making them less resilient to increased fishing pressure. Recognizing the threats to shark populations worldwide, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations developed a guideline to manage and conserve the world’s shark populations. The guideline was endorsed as the International Plan of Action on Sharks (IPOA-Sharks) by FAO’s Committee on Fisheries in 1999. IPOA-Sharks is voluntary and proposes countries engaged in either directed or non-directed exploitations of sharks to develop a National Plan of Action on the Conservation and Management of Sharks (NPOA-Sharks). 4.1 The overarching goal of the IPOA-Sharks is to ensure the conservation and management of sharks and their long-term sustainable use. Management and conservation of marine resources are given a high focus in the National Development Plans (NDP) of Maldives and the Fisheries Law itself has provisions to ensure management of all fisheries and conserve species if continued utilization could threaten the stocks. Therefore, MoFA concludes that the overarching goals of the IPOA-Sharks are in line with the fisheries management system of Maldives.