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National Fishermen's Day, Maldives guide
A quiet thank-you to tuna crews.
In short
National Fishermen's Day on 10 December is a working-day observance, not a holiday, so it suits travellers interested in Maldivian fishing culture more than ceremony. An official event moves to a different island each year, with school activities and messages of thanks. The better way to engage is through fish markets and harbours where pole-and-line fishing still shapes daily life.
National Fishermen's Day is the Maldives saying thank you to the people who built it. Long before the first resort opened, tuna caught by pole and line fed the islands and filled their export trade, and fishing remains one of the country's biggest earners after tourism. Each December the state honours the crews.
It is a working day, so the celebration is easy to overlook: an official ceremony on a different island each year, messages of thanks from companies, activities in schools. For travellers the better way in is through the fishing culture itself, which shows up at the Malé fish market, on a dhoni at dusk and on every breakfast plate.
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Key Facts & Stats:
Where: Maldives
Held: Every year
Type of event: Cultural Events, Community Events
Currency: Maldivian rufiyaa (MVR)
Time zone: Maldives Time, UTC+5
Language: Dhivehi
Getting around
Hotels near the venue fill up around the event dates.
Etiquette at the fish market and harbour
Malé's fish market is a workplace first and a sight second, and the people in it are busy.
- Footwear
- closed shoes or sandals you do not mind soaking. The floor is wet and the smell is strong.
- Space
- keep clear of anyone carrying fish or knives, and step back from the cutting tables.
- Photography
- ask before photographing fishers or vendors at work. Many will agree; some will not, and that is their call.
- Dress
- as anywhere in Malé, shoulders and knees covered.
Tips for a sunset fishing trip
Most resorts and many guesthouses run line-fishing outings on a dhoni, often timed for sunset. A few points make them better.
- Ask before you go whether the kitchen will cook your catch for dinner.
- Bring a light long-sleeved layer. Evening wind on open water feels cooler than the shore.
- Wear shoes with grip; a wet wooden deck is slippery.
- Seasickness tablets are worth taking if the sea is up.
Follow the crew's lead on where and how to fish, and keep fingers clear when a fish comes over the side.
What happens on the day
- Early morning
The catch comes in
The Malé fish market is at its busiest as the morning's catch comes off the boats.
- Daytime
The official programme
On the host island, a ceremony and reception for government figures and fishing communities. Elsewhere, schools run activities and some islands hold displays of fishing traditions.
- Through the day
Messages of thanks
State firms such as MIFCO, and many private companies, publish thanks to fishers.
- Sunset
Line fishing
Resort and guesthouse fishing trips on a dhoni usually leave around sunset.
Finding Fishermen's Day events
Fishermen's Day is an observance, not a holiday. Offices, shops and ferries keep their normal hours, nobody closes the bank, and most visitors only learn of it from a headline or a post on a hotel's social feed. That makes it easy to miss and easy to fit in.
There are two ways to approach it. The first is to chase the official celebration. Each year the Cabinet, advised by the fisheries ministry, picks a different host island, normally with months to spare, and the choice is reported in the Maldivian press. Once it is named, look at public ferries, speedboats and domestic flights to that atoll, and book a guesthouse there; rooms on inhabited islands start at about US$30 a night. Some host islands are a long way from Malé, so give yourself a spare day either side.
The second approach is simpler: base yourself in Malé or on a local island and see the fishing life that goes on every day. Mid-December is the start of the high season, so book resorts and transfers well before you fly. For atoll-by-atoll ideas beyond the capital, see our guide to the Maldives.
Pole-and-line tuna fishing and garudhiya
Tuna kept these islands alive long before tourism. Fishing is the oldest industry in the Maldives and still one of its biggest earners, and the government has set aside 10 December for its fishers since 1981. The 2022 celebration was officially the 42nd.
The method matters as much as the catch. Maldivian crews work the open ocean beyond the reefs, and most of the skipjack they land comes in by pole and line: one fish, one hook, swung aboard on a rod and line. There are no vast nets, which is why the fishery is so often held up as a model of sustainable tuna fishing.
The kitchen follows the boats. Breakfast across the country is mas huni, smoked tuna shredded with grated coconut, onion, chilli and a squeeze of lime, scooped up with roshi flatbread. Garudhiya, a clear fish broth eaten with rice, is the everyday main meal. In between come hedhikaa, the fried snacks such as bajiya and gulha, almost all of them stuffed with fish. Expect heat and coconut in most dishes.
Getting there
Flying in
Velana International Airport is on Hulhulé, a short crossing from Malé, with direct flights from Dhaka and Bangkok. Check entry rules on our Maldives visa page.
Airport to Malé
The public ferry takes about 10 minutes for MVR15, every 15 minutes from 06:00 to 20:30; taxis over the bridge charge fixed fares of MVR70 to 90.
To the host island
MTCC runs the public ferry network, but quieter routes often have one sailing a day and none on Fridays. Speedboats are faster and dearer; Maldivian, Manta Air and Villa Air fly to domestic airports, and seaplanes do not fly after dark.
Where to stay during the festival
We have no hotels listed in Maldives yet. The ones below are in Kaafu Atoll and Baa Atoll, so treat them as a base for the wider trip. The next date is 10 December 2026. Book as soon as your dates are fixed, since rooms close to the festival are the first to go.
Kaafu Atoll
Niva Kurumba Maldives5-star hotel
No reviews yet
from$290.00/ night
- Free WiFi
- Airport shuttle
- Swimming pool
4 Rooms available
Book Now
Baa Atoll
Soneva Fushi5-star hotel
No reviews yet
from$2,500.00/ night
- Free WiFi
- Swimming pool
- Fitness center
2 Rooms available
Book Now
Alif Dhaal Atoll
Conrad Maldives Rangali Island5-star hotel
No reviews yet
from$820.00/ night
- Free WiFi
- Airport shuttle
- Swimming pool
5 Rooms available
Book Now
Laamu Atoll
Six Senses Laamu5-star hotel
No reviews yet
from$1,300.00/ night
- Free WiFi
- Airport shuttle
- Swimming pool
5 Rooms available
Book Now
Noonu Atoll
Sun Siyam Iru Fushi5-star hotel
No reviews yet
from$603.00/ night
- Free WiFi
- Airport shuttle
- Swimming pool
3 Rooms available
Book Now
Weather and what to pack
December still falls in the long wet season (April to January) and averages over 200 mm of rain, though October, May and November are wetter. Malé averages about 30°C by day and 26°C at night in December (1991-2020 normals).
Worth packing
- Light, modest clothes for Malé and local islands (shoulders and knees covered)
- Reef-safe sunscreen
- A light rain jacket for a passing shower
- Seasickness tablets for dhoni and ferry trips
Car hire in Maldives
Airport transfer to National Fishermen's Day, Maldives
Met at arrivals and driven door to door to Maldives.
Restaurants and food in Maldives
Places to eat in Maldives before or after the celebrations.
Fresh in the Garden
Soneva Fushi, Kunfunadhoo Island, Baa Atoll, Maldives
Cuisine:Garden to tableContemporary
- Dine-in
- Outdoor seating
SEA Underwater Restaurant
Anantara Kihavah Maldives Villas, Kihavah Huravalhi Island, Baa Atoll, Maldives
Cuisine:ContemporaryInternational
- Dine-in
5.8 Undersea Restaurant
Hurawalhi Island Resort, Hurawalhi, Lhaviyani Atoll, Maldives
Cuisine:ContemporaryTasting menu
- Dine-in
Ithaa Undersea Restaurant
Conrad Maldives Rangali Island, Rangali Island, Alif Dhaal Atoll, Maldives
Cuisine:Contemporary EuropeanTasting menu
- Dine-in
- Private room
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Timing & weather
No. It is an official observance and a normal working day, so offices, shops and transport run as on any other day. Only the host island's programme and a stream of tributes in the media mark it out.
Yes. Anyone can walk in to watch the catch being landed and sold. Mornings are the liveliest time, and the café upstairs is a good place to sit once the trading slows.
General
The Cabinet chooses the venue each year on the fisheries ministry's recommendation. Check Maldivian news sites in the weeks before 10 December for the announcement, and only then book transport to that atoll.
Fares-Maathodaa, in Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll, hosted the 2022 edition, which the President's Office counted as the 42nd. It shows how far from Malé the official event can travel, since the host changes every year.
The Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company, set up by the government in 1979. It handles the processing and export of frozen and canned tuna and operates a collector vessel for the fleet.
About 65 percent. Skipjack is the tuna species that matters most to Maldivian crews, and pole and line is the commonest way they catch it.
No. The traditional masdhoni was a sailing boat, but most of the fleet was mechanised during the 1980s. By 1995 only 5 of the 1,674 fishing vessels counted were still under sail.
On the island of Felivaru, where the State Trading Organisation rebuilt the plant. Canning takes about four days from start to finish, and the factory has its own laboratory for quality control.
Maarukeytu Hota, on the second floor of the market building, serves grilled fish, curry, rice and drinks for roughly Rf 20 to 30 a head. It fills up most in the afternoon.
Largely to Sri Lanka. At one time about 90 percent of the tuna catch was shipped there in dried form. Smoked and dried fish is still sold at Malé's local market.