Spanish tourist Borja Garcia Sousa lost his leg to a shark attack near Kooddoo island on 11 April. But local divers and conservationists aren’t surprised. The attack site sits in a channel widely known as a dumping ground for fish and food waste from a nearby processing plant — and dive operators have long been timing their excursions around feeding times.
“Everyone knows that Kooddoo dumps food waste there. Safari boats coordinate their dive time around when they dump the waste. Sometimes they dump their own fish too.” — a diver from Gaaf Alif atoll
Across the Maldives, chumming — attracting sharks with food to boost dive tourism — has been quietly reshaping shark behaviour, making encounters with swimmers increasingly unpredictable. The Maldives Shark Incident Registry recorded just one attack per year between 2021 and 2023. Since 2024, there has been eight attacks — most linked to feeding-associated behaviour.
Experts say the practice urgently needs regulation. But many fear speaking out against a powerful industry with little appetite for scrutiny.
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