Industries in Maldives

Traditionally, fishermen set out at dawn in search of bait fish, which were caught and kept alive in a specially prepared compartment of the dhoani.

Traditionally, the fishermen return to the island by nightfall; however, with the advent of mechanized dhoani, they are generally back by the early afternoon.

However, when the government took over the plant in 1982, it was unable to meet the overseas demand due to the condition of buildings and equipment, so a new factory was opened in 1986.

[1] In the same year, the Maldives Fisheries Corporation (MFC) was formed to exploit the fish industry.

When the Japanese pulled out, the government negotiated a deal to buy the three freezer and six collector vessels that belonged to them, which then became part of the State Trading Organization (STO) fleet.

A boat yard was built on the island of Alifushi and the construction of one hundred second-generation Mark II dhoanis was begun.

The opening up of the exclusive economic zone (EEZ), for fisheries proved to be a boon to the country's fishing industry.

The first fish canning plant was established on the island of Felivaru, as a joint venture with a Japanese firm, in 1977.

While this 150,000 cans per hour plant increased production, it was still unable to meet the rising overseas demand for Maldive tuna.

White sandy beaches, clear waters, and waving palms under blue skies make Maldives a tourist destination.

In 1972, the first tourist resort, Kurumba Village (a five star hotel as of now), was pioneered by two Maldivian entrepreneurs in association with an Italian investor.

The private sector and the government are actively involved in the promotion and marketing of the tourism product.

Today, tourism is the country's biggest foreign exchange earner, contributing nearly a fifth of the GDP.

MATI coordinates its activities with the government and work in partnership with other national and international organizations.