The decision was made following cabinet recommendations and deliberations on a paper presented during Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting.

As of July 2016, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classified whale sharks as an endangered species on its red list. Whale sharks were previously designated as a protected species under the Fisheries Act of the Maldives (Act No. 14/2019).

The cabinet paper proposed that the Environmental Protection and Preservation Act of Maldives (Act No: 4/93) would provide the most effective framework for the conservation and management of whale sharks instead, following the observation that the Maldivian fishing industry nor fishing industries worldwide regarded whale sharks as a viable fishery species. The paper also highlighted the Maldives' conservation challenges for whale sharks and their ecosystem.

The Cabinet paper additionally emphasised how the conservation and management of whale sharks under the Environmental Protection and Preservation Act would safeguard the species' habitat and overcome conservation obstacles. The paper also noted prospective environmental, social, and economic benefits.

(This article was first published by Atoll Times, Maldives)