FIRST LAAMASEELU MASVERIYAA QUARTERLY MEETING

The Blue Marine and MRR team held the first Laamaseelu Masveriyaa fisher meeting of the year this month. Ten fishers attended including two of the newest fishers recruited in the programme, one of whom supplies Six Senses Laamu with live lobster caught by hand in the northwest part of Laamu atoll.

These meetings are an opportunity for the team and fishers to hold collaborative discussions; for the 14 fishers to share their views, concerns and suggestions and for the team to provide updates to the fishers. At the meeting, an overview of the last five months fishing data was given and action points reviewed. After discussions with resort management and the fishers prior to the meeting, the team shared the decision with the fishers to remove sailfish from the purchasing list as sailfish is now listed as vulnerable on the IUCN red list and the fishers accepted this decision. The team also shared the exciting news (and photos!) that the LSMV programme has been rolled out to 3 new resorts in 3 other atolls and that this wouldn’t have been possible without them as pioneers of supplying fish sustainably to Six Senses Laamu.