DTIS, Volume I - Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF)

Table 4.3: Fishery Sector employment
Country Sector
Sector
Share of On-board
Census Total Total Total % Vessel Other Men Women
1990 55,949 11,498 21 11,364 134 11,181 317
2000 86,245 9,294 11 9,019 275 9,181 113
Decline 2,204 2,345 2,000 204
Decline in % 19% 21% 18% 64%
Source: Employed Population 15 Years and Over, NPND 2004, Table 3.9
Meanwhile, the national labour force grew by 60 per cent between 1990 and 2000 but the
share of fishery sector employment fell by 10 per cent.
The main explanation for the decline in fishery employment has been the modernization
of the fleet in terms of better engines and increasing use of fibreglass vessels. These
require shorter and fewer trips to produce the same or even higher volume of catch. But
while boats have been modernized, fishing skills have stagnated. Local fishermen use
pole and line to catch skipjack tuna, which accounts for approximately 94 per cent of all
catches in the Maldives. This is a potentially labour intensive and environment-friendly
method of fishing but there is scope for training to improve fishing methods and on-board
post harvest handling of the catch. Under present conditions, fishing is not seen as an
attractive employment opportunity by the younger generation, notwithstanding the fact
that the income generated normally exceeds income from public sector employment. An
increasing number of young people are turning their backs on fishery, a key factor, which
also accounts for declining employment levels in the sector.
The sector has also lacked dynamism in relation to the marketing of products, fairly weak
intra- and inter-sectoral linkages and low level of diversification. The only major
improvement in processing activities that has occurred in recent years has been the
modernization of cottage style processing of ‘Maldivian fish’ - dried, salted and smoked
skipjack tuna that is exported mainly to Sri Lanka. But the decline of the cottage
industry also resulted in the loss of a major employment opportunity and income
generating activity for women.
The lack of dynamism of the fishery sector and weak linkages is reflected in the fact that
on-board activities accounted for 98 per cent of sector employment in 1990 and 97 per
cent in 2000. The multiplier effect on the economy as a whole of the fishery sector is
estimated at 1.4 (i.e. for each full item fisherman 0.4 jobs are created in up- and down
stream activities and adjacent trades). However, for countries with abundant fish
resources and associated processing activities, the multiplier effect is typically above 2.0.
TOURISM SECTOR EMPLOYMENT
The tourism industry, which encompasses hotels and resort islands, restaurant, catering
and transport services, is estimated by MATI to employ 27,200 people. Of these, some
12,649 are expatriates, often working in technical areas that are either not attractive to
Maldivian workers or where there are skill shortages. Wage rates for foreign labour
(mostly from Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka) is generally half of that paid to Maldivian
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