WORKING PAPERS - BOBP/WP/64
Reef Fish Resources Survey in the Maldives
by
Martin Van Der Knaap
Fishery Biologist, BOBP
Zaha Waheed, Hussein Shareef
& Mohammed Rasheed
Ministry of Fisheries & Agriculture, Maldives
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WORKING PAPERS - BOBP/WP/64 Reef Fish Resources Survey in the Maldivesby |
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Executing Agency: FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS Funding Agency: SWEDISH INTERNATIONAL
DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY Development of Small-Scale Fisheries in the Bay of Bengal. Madras, India, May 1990 |
| The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. |
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© FAO 2004
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This paper describes exploratory fishing trials carried out for over a year (1986-87) in the reefs of North Male Atoll in the Maldives.The aim was to assess the potential for reef fish in the Maldives and study the possibilities of developing a viable reef fish fishery. The paper provides preliminary information on various reef fish species, their abundance and rates of exploitation, and the relative efficiency of various fishing gear that can tap the reef fish resource. The trials were conducted in co-operation with the Ministry of Fisheries, Maldives, using a modified dhoti as survey vessel.Some staff were provided by the Ministry’s marine research section, while the FAO made available the services of a master fisherman and a fisheries biologist. The exploratory reef fish project, and this paper which reports on it, were funded by the UNDP (the United Nations Development Programme), and carried out for the FAO by the BOBP or the Bay of Bengal Programme for Fisheries Development. The BOBP began in 1979 and covers seven countries around the Bay of Bengal — Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Thailand. Its main goals are to develop, demonstrate and promote new ideas, technologies or methodologies to improve the conditions of small-scale fisherfolk in the region. |
1. INTRODUCTION
2. MATERIAL AND METHODS
3. RESULTS
4. BIOLOGICAL INFORMATION
5. EXISTING REEF FISHERIES IN NORTH MALE ATOLL
6. RELATIVE ABUNDANCE
7. BIOMASS, POTENTIAL YIELD AND EXPLOITATION RATE
8. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
ANNEXURES
1. a) Arrowhead traps; b) Multi filament bottom set long line; c) Traditional hand line; d) Experimental hand line
2. General arrangement of exploratory research vessel, R. V. FAR UMAS
3. Growth parameters from other parts of the world, for species occurring in the study area.
4. (a) & (b) Length—weight relationships for various reef fish species
5. Species codes and scientific names of fish identified
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