Mariculture
Mariculture is the culture of marine organisms in seawater. The islands in the Maldives are too small to have inland fisheries, nor are there land based aquaculture activities at present. Fishing occurs in reef, coastal and offshore waters. However, various forms of mariculture are being experimentally trialled, such as the culture of pearls, giant clams, spiny lobsters, bêche-de-mer and grouper.
Seaweed culture has been trialled with little success so far. Nonetheless, culture appears promising given the extensive reef areas which can provide suitable habitats. Culturing crabs in mangrove areas is also a possibility.
Sea cucumbers have been an important coastal resource. They were a very successful fishery to begin with, but have been overfished and need appropriate management to recover. Cultured sea cucumbers have considerable potential, although forage and grouper fisheries can be negatively affected by waste water from sea cucumbers.
Read more about this topic: Fishing Industry In The Maldives