Director General Adam Ziyad

Adam Ziyad was appointed as the Director General of the Fisheries Department of the Ministry of Fisheries, Marine Resources and Agriculture in Jan 2020. He first joined the Ministry in August 2003 as a Project Officer (Tr) and was tasked with the monitoring movement and catches of the foreign owned longline fleet that was licensed to fish by the Maldives. He was also involved in monitoring and regulating the companies that were licensed to purchase fish under the skipjack liberalization program. Following this brief exposure to the fishing industry he completed a Bachelor’s Degree in Applied Science (Fisheries Management) from the Australian Maritime College, a faculty of the University of Tasmania. Subsequent to this he worked in the Ministry for 2 years before leaving for a Master’s Degree in Coastal and Marine Resources Management from the University of Portsmouth, UK.

Upon returning back to work following the completion of the Bachelor’s Degree, Mr. Adam Ziyad was assigned to the newly established Fisheries Management Unit which was tasked with overhauling the fisheries management framework of the Maldives. Some of the notable outputs that were led by Mr. Ziyad include the establishment of a licensing regime for fishing vessels, fish processing facilities and aquaculture establishments in Maldives. They were formulated and adopted along with a catch documentation scheme for exports of tuna from the Maldives. During this spell a Vessel Monitoring System was established to monitor the activities of the fishing vessels and a comprehensive inspection and monitoring regime was established in the sector.

Mr. Ziyad was also an integral member of the team that led the efforts to establish logbook-based catch and effort reporting in the Maldives and the gradual move to phase-out the old reporting system. As part of this initiative a Fisheries Information System (FIS) was also established to record catch and effort, fish purchase information and to digitize the licensing arrangements. The FIS system notably was the first online system for issuing catch documentation established in the Indian Ocean region.

As part of his duties Adam Ziyad has represented the Maldives in meetings of international organizations such as the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Bay of Bengal – IGO, Southwest Indian Ocean Fisheries Commission (SWIOFC), Infofish and the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC). He has also extensively worked with projects funded by IFAD, World Bank, UNDP, FAO and other international donors.

Prior to his appointment as the Director General, Mr. Ziyad held various posts within the Ministry, including the Director of Fisheries Compliance, Assistant Director of Fisheries Management. He is also the Commissioner from the Maldives to the IOTC and is also the Vice Chair of the Commission and is responsible for the sustainable development and management of the fisheries sector. His expertise in management of fisheries at a regional and international level and his understanding of the market needs and requirements will help elevate the fisheries sector to the next level and maintain the edge for the sustainable fisheries Maldives is renowned for.

Director General

Primary responsibilities included overseeing the management and development of fisheries sector in the Maldives.