IPNLF working with Maldivian NGO to draw new talent to one-by-one tuna sector

A memorandum of understanding has been signed between the International Pole and Line Foundation (IPNLF) and Maldivian NGO Dhivehi Masverin (Maldives Fishermen) as a means to further elevate the Republic of Maldives’ standing as a global leader in the one-by-one tuna sector.

The agreement will see key knowledge and data gaps addressed and will also work to increase the awareness of tuna fishing’s significant contribution to the country’s economy, IPNLF said in a press release announcing the pact on 14 February. Attracting new talent and young jobseekers to the Maldives’ tuna fishing sector is a primary goal set in the agreement as well, an aim that Dhivehi Masverin has already set out to tackle with the use of carefully selected imagery and videos, which have been shared through popular social media platforms.

“I come from a relatively large fisher family in Gemanafushi island in the south. I have always believed that our fishery is special, but that there is also scope for improvement, particularly in making the lives of fishermen better, safer and more secure. One of the best ways to make these positive changes is to raise the sector’s public profile,” Dhivehi Masverin President Ahmed Shafiu, who is also a local fisher, said.

Signing the agreement means that both IPNLF and Dhivehi Masverin have agreed to the following, the organizations explained:

  • Promote each other’s work through their respective social media platforms
  • Collaborate on conducting skipper training workshops to promote best-practice fishing
  • Support the collection of catch-and-effort and other fishery data, including on livebait extraction and utilization, to better understand the partitioning of effort for livebait and tuna fishing
  • Support and assist in promoting the reduction of plastic use in tuna fisheries
  • Support activities that ensure an improved understanding of the social and economic conditions of the fishery and fishing communities, to help develop and formulate fishery development policies and management plans

“We are delighted to be partnering with Dhivehi Masverin in this important work. Our two associations share a lot of common goals, and I am confident that by uniting efforts in the agreed areas we can accelerate the progress of the Maldives’ one-by-one tuna sector – thereby expediting the benefits for stakeholders on all levels,” IPNLF Managing Director Martin Purves said.

Photo courtesy of Dhivehi Masverin/IPNLF

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